The Married Life
by walkingonsnow
Summary: Nate is caught being infidel.  Alex and Nate struggle to decide whether to mend themselves or end their marriage permanently.
1. Chapter 1

A crash of glass was heard on the tile floor of the kitchen as Nate walked in just coming home from work. Suspicious and worried about the sound he ran into the kitchen to see Alex throwing plates and glasses down onto the ground. Nate quickly loosened his tie and tiptoed quickly to not get cut by the glass and to catch Alex to stop her from throwing more. Once he got to the other side of the broken glass trench he quickly wrapped his arms around her to stop her arm movements. She struggled and fought against his strength to get free but he just held tighter.

Coarsely he calmly said into Alex's ear, "What are you doing, Alex?"

Nate could feel the tears from her eyes soak his button-up sleeves. He could feel under his arms that she stopped her struggle and was just now silently sobbing. Nate let go and spun her around in his arms. He held her upper arms with his strong hands. He looked at her but she bowed her head. She didn't want to see his gorgeous eyes, one of those things she fell for when they met. Harshly he spat at her, "Alex, what is wrong with you?"

They stood there in silence as he grasped her tightly. Alex couldn't take it anymore. She waited until her sobs calmed down a bit and she looked up. She tried to remain strong but she already failed at that. Sadly she asked,"Why don't you call me Lexie anymore? Not even Allie." A few more tears fell. It had been a while since he had called her any of those names.

Nate relaxed a bit. He sighed and loosened his grip on her. His hands moved up to caress her face and his thumbs wiped away her tears. Using his hands he kept her face up and she looked at him through these eyes of anguish. He smiled a little to assuage the tension, "Allie, I call you that all of the time." he stopped and gave her a little kiss on her nose. He pulled away, "Lexie, that's what I call you in bed, silly." Another little kiss on her nose. They stood staring at each other for a good five minutes. "So are we good?" He tried to lighten the mood again, "Can we clean up the broken glass now?" He chuckled.

Alex's hands went up to Nate's hands and she lightly grasped them. She said firmly, "No."

Nate was confused. He thought he just fixed everything. He thought he made it clear with the name situation. "What do you mean, no? No we can't clean up the broken glass? Or no we're not good?" He was getting a bit impatient and he seemed less loving.

"No, we're not good." She pulled his hands away from her face and walked away while grabbing a bottle of wine from their mini-cellar.

Nate called after her, "Alex! Do you think that's a good idea? That's a pretty expensive bottle of wine."

Then he heard the clicking of her heels stop and come closer to him. When he could see her clearly, it was apparent that she was upset, "Expensive, Nate? That's all you care about? Well let me tell you something, Nate." She said his name with such force and disgust. "The expense of _this_ bottle of wine, doesn't amount to the expense of your extra girlfriend." Alex dropped the bottle of fermented grape juice and it broke on contact with the tile floor. The wine rushed in a wave over her feet and the broken glass of the bottle. Some shards stuck her and a trickle of blood stained her white pumps along with the red wine. Alex stood there unaffected by the cuts.

Nate tried to remain calm. He ran his hand through his hair harshly and had his other hand on his hip. "Okay, now look what you've done. You've stained your shoes and I'm sure the wine's going to stain the walls." Alex stared at him in disbelief.

"That's all you care about? Did you not hear what I said?" Nate threw his hands up in the air as if in surrender. Alex was now yelling at Nate, "All of those things are replaceable, Nate! I'm not!"

It was quiet for a minute or two as Nate was searching for something appropriate to say. He lamely came out with, "You've also cut yourself."

Alex stood still, "Oh that's great." She began to yell again, "That's freakin' great, Nate!" She pulled off her white pumps and threw them in his direction, "Since that's all you care about!" He dodged her shoes. "Take them. Go fix 'em. I don't give a crap. Do something with them."

He caught the other shoe, "Okay, you're going to hurt me now."

"I'm going to hurt you? Wow, that's rich Nate. I'm going to hurt you. I'm pretty sure you've hurt me."

"Listen, we can take your clothes to the dry cleaners. We can get the stains out, I'm sure."

Alex laughed sarcastically, "Oh wow. That _is_ all you care about." Alex started to strip taking an article of clothing off one by one. He just stood there watching her. Alex was down to her undergarments. She stood there and she began to cry. The old Nate would've pounced on her when she was undressed. The old Nate would've already tried to get her in bed the second he got home. Her Nate would've kissed her and tended to her wounds. Her Nate wouldn't have cheated on her. But, it was her Nate. It was her Nate who looked for love somewhere else.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Alex was sure to wake up earlier than Nate. She wasn't just about to see him the morning after she made a fool of herself. Alex slept in their master bedroom which was practically the size of an apartment. The couple had done well for themselves. They had a large house and they were successful. And because they had a large house, Alex asked, more like demanded, Nate to sleep in a guest room in the south wing and downstairs. She didn't want him to be anywhere near her or in the way of her daily route out of the house. She made her way to her bathroom and slipped on her silk robe. She turned the knob on one of the French doors to her master bath slowly and smoothly. She pulled the door open and to her surprise, Nate was already up and sitting on the ledge of the bath. He had his chin resting on his chest, his arms crossed across his chest and his legs crossed by his ankles. Alex stopped to watch Nate nap on the bath ledge. He seemed peaceful. She just wanted to take in what reminded her of her past. Alex walked into the bathroom quietly and went to grab her basic toiletries-toothbrush, toothpaste and she wanted a towel. She quietly set down her things and made her way to her towel closet. When she came back, Nate wasn't napping anymore. He was sitting erect on the bath ledge.

She stopped and was a bit startled, "Nate."

Nate stood up, "Did you not expect me to be up this early?"

The alertness or lack thereof in his voice didn't fool Alex, she knew he was tired. He had come home late yesterday and he had cleaned up the mess she made. She didn't hear him collect his things from their room until about two in the morning. "It's four thirty." She said it like it explained everything. She took a few steps closer to the counter to retrieve her toothbrush and tube of toothpaste, "I also don't expect anything from you anymore." Even to her it sounded forced.

"Hey," Alex continued to walk, "Hey, listen!" Alex stopped and seemed drained but she slowly turned to Nate. "I know you're tired, Ale- Allie." Alex's eyes darted to Nate's, almost as if she was throwing daggers at him. He took steps closer to her and lifted his arm as if to usher her, "So, how about we just go back to bed together?"

Alex pushed his arm down and said nonchalantly, "No. I need to go to work."

Nate asked sweetly, "This early? Babe, let's just take the day off. You've been working hard."

Alex eyed him up and down trying to figure out what his game was, "Nate, there's a reason why I asked you to sleep downstairs." There was a bit of silence, "So you could be far enough away from me. I need to go to work so if you could just pardon me, that would be great."

She walked pass Nate and grabbed her things before getting caught by Nate's hand, "You don't need to go to work. I'll call in for you. In fact, I'll cancel all of my appointments this week too." Alex knew that was a lot for him, to even offer to cancel all of his appointments but she needed to have the normalcy of her everyday routine to keep her from going insane. She didn't respond. "Look, babe. I know that you didn't want to see me this morning. I know you don't wake up at this time either." He looked at her pleadingly, "So, please, just come back to bed with me."

Alex put down her things giving Nate some hope that she'd go to bed with him. She stepped behind him and started to lightly lead him to the bedroom. Once they got to the threshold he turned around and smiled at her thinking that he had won. Alex returned the smile but slammed both French doors in his face. She quickly shoved a chair underneath the knobs so he couldn't turn them. Nate began to bang on the door, "Alex! What the hell! Open up the damn door!"

Alex turned on the stereo system in her bathroom and it boomed out a Connect 3 song that covered up Nate's demands. About half an hour later, Alex was done getting ready and she looked like she did every day, perfect. She turned off the music and was about to open the door hoping that Nate might have fallen asleep or given up. But once the music stopped, Nate went back to banging on the door.

It was so unlike her but Alex grabbed a pair of black patent pumps, a cute black clutch, and her light coat. She climbed out the window and stood on the roof. She walked over to the side of the house where there was a grid-like wooden white slab that was there for decorative purposes. She threw down her heels, her clutch, her coat and began to climb down. Nate stopped long enough to hear everything thud to the ground. He quickly ran downstairs and tried to get to the cars before Alex got the chance. Alex heard the front door open. She scrambled down to the earth and grabbed her things quickly before running to the cars barefoot. She was extremely glad she forgot her keys in her unlocked car. A very irresponsible move just played to her advantage. She fumbled with the keys as she saw Nate coming closer. She locked her car doors in attempt to keep Nate out as he got there and pounded on her window. Her adrenaline was just too much to handle right now. Her hands were shaking like crazy and she couldn't steady them enough to stick her key into the ignition.

Nate stopped his pounding because he saw Alex shaking very violently. The last time he saw her do that, she had a panic attack and had to be admitted to the hospital because of all the stress she put herself through. He calmly said to Alex, "Allie? Allie, please calm down. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just want to spend the day with you that's all. Please open the door. Allie. Please calm down." Alex's eyes looked up at Nate with fear running through and through them. Tears stained her cheeks and she was breathing hard. Nate guessed that she couldn't stop shaking. He ran inside and grabbed his set of keys to open her Lexus. When he got there, his hands were also struggling to steady the keys to get into the lock. But quickly he got it and unlocked the car to open the door. Once he did, he grabbed her as she rushed out of the car into his arms. His strong arms wrapped around her and he swayed side to side to calm her down as she shook and sobbed.

After about twenty minutes of just standing outside in his arms, Alex calmed down. It was about six o'clock now which is when Alex normally woke up to go to set. Softly Nate asked into her hair, "Babe, can we go back to bed now? Spend the day just you and me?" Alex just wanted a day off but the thought of spending it with her cheating husband really didn't seem appealing. But, even though every fiber of her being wanted to say no, she nodded her head and he walked her inside.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, Babe, are you awake?" Nate whispered into Alex's hair. Nate had undressed her and redressed her into her comfiest jamies when they came in. They both were laying in their bed. Surprisingly, Alex didn't throw a fit and she didn't say a word. She just laid there. Nate stroked Alex's hair as he held her in his arms. Alex had her head resting on his chest. It reminded her of when they first got married and they spent an entire week in bed together. The rising and falling of his chest lulled her into a nap earlier but now it was just relaxing.

Alex pushed herself up using Nate's abdomen as a surface. She slipped off of her bed and went into her bathroom. Behind her, Nate began to follow. Just as he got closer, she turned around and smiled at him but closed the doors behind her. Nate soundlessly opened the door and got a glimpse of Alex undressing. While turning the hot handle faucet to her bathtub, she reached for a bubble bath fizzie ball. The water almost reached the brim when she turned off the faucet and threw in the bath accessory. She slipped off her undergarments and left them in a pile that pooled around her feet.

Nate opened the door fully but made sure to make some noise. Alex slightly turned but kept most of her front side facing towards the bath. She couldn't care less if Nate was watching her now. That's what they use to do anyways, be comfortable with each other whether or not they were naked. Limb by limb she climbed into the bath and in the process overflowed the tub with some water spilling out. Nate stood leaning on the door frame.

Alex's eyes flicked toward Nate, "Well, what are you going to keep staring at me?" They use to take baths together. They use to take hot steamy showers together. Nobody ever said they were actually bathing.

Nate grew hopeful, "So does this mean that you've solved everything that you're going through?" Alex kept staring at him. "That you've realized that what you said yesterday about me having an extra girlfriend is ludicrous." Nate took a few steps closer and began to pull off his white v-neck hanes undershirt.

"Stop." Nate finished pulling off his t-shirt. "My question wasn't an invitation." Nate came closer. "Didn't I tell you to stop?" Nate pulled off his basketball shorts and boxer briefs. He slipped into the water and sat on the other side of the bath staring back at Alex. "If you think this is going to fix anything that I said last night, you're sadly insane." He still sat there enjoying the floral scent of the fizzie ball. "I'm not wasting this fizzie ball... so get out."

Nate sat there and carefully calculated his words but he came out with a childish response instead, "I'm not going to waste it either. Why can't we just share it?" He reached over to Alex and began to make his way over to her. She stopped him by putting her foot up to his chest. "What?" Alex lifted her hand out of the water, soap bubbles clung to her, and she pointed to the door. "Are you trying to get me to get out? I'm not going anywhere."

Alex rolled her eyes, "No, stupid, you're phone is ringing." Nate sat still for a second and recognized the special ring tone that he had set. His eyes bugged out in alarm but he remained still. The ringing was incessant, "Nate, are you not going to get that?" Nate shook his head. "Well, if you're not, then I will." She got up but Nate quickly grabbed onto her waist.

Nate seemed uneasy, "Y'know what. Don't worry about it, I'll get it."

Alex looked down at Nate, she gave him a quizzical look, "'Y'know what Baby, I'll just get it." Alex said it with such slime and as if she was trying to mimic how Nate had sounded earlier, slick. She slid her hand across his jawline and bent down to kiss him. It was a pretty intense kiss, like no heat had been lost in their romance. She had him fooled and off guard. She quickly climbed out of the tub as he was somewhat stunned by their kiss and she ran quickly to answer his phone. "Hello?"

On the other side of the phone line, it was some woman with a raspy voice, "Hello?" Alex could hear the confusion in her voice. "Um, who is this?" Nate caught up with Alex and grabbed her from behind. Alex let out a little squeak and closed the phone. Nate reached for his phone but Alex just held it out far enough in front of her that Nate couldn't reach it. She turned around quickly and held the phone behind Nate.

Alex laughed evilly, "What? What is it, baby?" She closed the little gap between them and kissed him passionately. Pulling away she mentioned, "If you wanted to hide your girlfriend, you should've put her under a different name. Not, booty call." Alex looked at Nate and she could see the surprise in his eyes. He got caught. Alex had a momentary lapse of judgment. She slapped him with as much force as she could muster at the moment. In reaction, he let go of her and grabbed his burning cheek. She walked away in her perfect body and he watched her go, "Well, I guess I'm going to work."


	4. Chapter 4

"Nate, can you please clean up your hall!" Alex received an unpleasant surprise from Nate. He had left her the entire south wing in a mess. "You're not sixteen anymore, Nate. You can't just try to riot and expect me to take you back." Alex was getting tired of his age-old tactics. It had been about a week since Alex almost had her panic attack and it had also been about a week since Alex had answered that phone call from Nate's "Booty Call." It had been about a few days since she completely kicked him out of their room. That day she kicked him out, she hadn't thrown a silly fit like she did that one night with the wine, she just packed up his things in these cute navy monogrammed boxes that they had from their wedding. She asked Mitchie and Shane for help. When they questioned her, Alex replied simply, "Spring Cleaning." They brought all of the boxes down to the room Alex had designated for Nate that one night.

Nate came out of his room in a huff and threw a monogrammed box out of his opened door and it hit the opposite wall of the wide hallway. "What the hell, Alex! You asked Shane to help you move all of my stuff down here?"

Alex spoke like a mother to a child, "I don't know why you're so upset. Your stuff has been down here for a couple of days." So, Alex didn't exactly tell Nate who helped her. She didn't find it necessary.

Nate walked up to her with anger in his eyes, "Yeah? So what'd you tell him then?" Alex looked at him with an expression that asked him to elaborate. "What'd you tell him when he asked you what all of the boxes contained!"

Alex giggled, "Stop being so dramatic, Nate. I thought you would be happy." Alex shrugged and began to pick a piece of lint off of her sweater.

Nate shook his head and stood as if he was thinking, "Why would I be happy that my wife kicked me out of our room with my brother's help?"

"So you're fine then? With me kicking you out? You're just upset that I asked Shane to help and he agreed?" Alex looked at Nate with raised eyebrows waiting for an answer.

"No I'm not fine that my wife kicked me out of our room." Alex scrunched her face.

"I thought you'd like it more since then you can have "Booty Call" over. Y'know, you can have her over now anytime you want. You don't have to sneak over to her house or the _Four Seasons_." Nate glanced at her and Alex knew that Nate knew that he just got caught... again. Alex was waiting for it, she had an expectant smile on her face. "So. I'm right. You do take her over to the Four Seasons. Well it's not like I actually have to ask you, Four Seasons called to confirm your next four reservations this month. Once a week, that could get pretty expensive." Alex nodded her head. "I guess that's why they asked if you wanted to just finalize the contract for your lease on one of the suites." Alex looked at him through narrow eyes. "Yeah... So clean up, we're having guests tonight."

In Nate's head it clicked, he remembered what she was talking about. Even though Nate was a pretty private guy, he always tried to have a dinner party at least once a month if not more. He looked at the mess he made, "Damn dinner parties."

One by one, the couples began to show up at the Gray's mansion. Once all of the couples showed up, they took a seat down at the Gray's dining table-a long but intimate table. They all sat down. Alex and Nate took their respective seats at the end of the dinner table.

Nate looked over at Alex and she took his breath away. She batted her eyelashes when she noticed that Nate was staring at her. And he slowly smiled. It seemed like a moment from their past. Anybody could've mistaken their little moment and thought that they were the perfect couple. Sure, they were the perfect couple. Their exterior was the perfect couple but somewhere along their journey, their interior became tainted.

Alex stood up to make a little greeting Nate usually did, "So, thank you all for coming. Me and Nate greatly appreciate your company this evening. After dinner tonight, we wanted to try something new. Instead of having our little conversation and cocktails or our game night, we're going to have a little soiree of sorts. Our other friends will be joining us for drinks." At all of the other dinner parties it would just be Nate giving the little greeting while Alex sat beaming up at her perfect husband. But now, Alex needed to take initiative and show that she could be independent and strong on her own.

Mitchie giggled as Shane whispered something into her ear and she turned to Alex and asked loud enough for the entire table to hear, "So, Allie, what's up with the change?"

Alex smiled and her eyes flew over to Nate's face, "Nate is _doing_ something a little different, so I figured I would try something different for a change too." Nate caught the emphasis on 'doing' but everybody else seemed to not.

Before anyone could respond to what Alex said Nate remarked, "Oh, looks like we're all out of wine, I guess I should go get a good one down in the cellar, Alex would you like to join me?"

"And leave our guests? Oh, well, I don't know, Nate. Can't you go on without me?" Her response could've seemed so common place to anyone else but to Nate and Alex, the sarcasm and insincerity was obvious in her response. Nate couldn't tell if it was a trick question. He nodded his head towards the door to their finished basement. Alex pardoned herself and found them in the cellar.

Alex truly was thinking that Nate wanted to find a bottle of wine. She bent down to look around for it, "What wine did you want again?" She stood back up to face him when he spoke to her. Once he did he backed her up into a wall of wine bottles, and used his one hand to lean on the wall of wine bottles, his arm created a barrier. He seemed aggravated. "Can I help you with something?"

Nate was upset, "Yeah, you can tell me what the hell that was upstairs?"

"What? Me giving the speech? Well that was just like I said, I was trying something new."

"Yeah, I heard that. I heard you say '_doing_' something different." Alex looked at Nate and she raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, that was a low blow Alex. That didn't need to be said."

Alex giggled, "Wow, it wasn't needed to be said. Well, it wasn't needed for you to go nail another girl, Nate. Was it?" Nate still glared at her "Yeah, it wasn't. What was it anyways? Was I not good enough or something? Did you not have enough fun in bed? With me." Nate's expression relaxed but he didn't answer. Alex pushed down Nate's arm and went upstairs to the dinner party.


	5. Chapter 5

Alex brushed out her hair and looked at herself in her vanity. Tonight was the night that Nate had made a reservation at the Four Seasons. He probably wouldn't be back until morning. Alex stood up and admired her new dress. A body hugging dress was not hard to find when she had the help of her best friend Mitchie. Mitchie had an eye for extremely cute clothes. The dress was red with bell-capped but not poofy sleeves and Alex used a belt to cinch in the waist to fit her perfectly. It was a cute and sophisticated dress perfect for a casual but dressy night out. Alex sat back down to perfect her ruby red lips. The door bell rang and Alex quickly grabbed her white clutch and her black coat.

Slipping on some heels she opened the door, "Hi."

"Well you look lovely." Alex smiled at the familiar face.

"Thank you, Jacob." Alex couldn't stop smiling. She hadn't completely lost contact with him but ever since she married Nate about five years ago, she felt the need to stop talking to Jacob as a close friend and more like an acquaintance. She closed the door behind her and he helped her into his car.

"It's nice to hang out with you again." Jacob flashed his million dollar smile. The years had been good to him. After the saga he filmed, he had become pretty buff and stayed that way. His build wasn't the kind of a body builder like Hulk Hogan. His body was more of a fit coverboy, very sexy. "I missed you since you've gotten married."

Alex smiled demurely, "I've missed you too." She scanned the dashboard of his car before continuing, "I can't believe it's been five years since we last hung out."

"I know, it's crazy." They sat in silence for a few moments, "So, why did you call now?"

Alex turned toward him, "Is there a reason I can't call you now? I mean I know that I haven't really been talking to you lately but it doesn't mean we're not still friends." Alex shrugged and fiddled with the buckle on her belt.

"Oh no it's not that, Allie." He glanced over at her and he could tell she was upset, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Alex cut in, "No, you're fine. I just called because like I said, 'I miss you.' It's been awhile. You've been busy anyways." Alex raked her brain for something to say. "So, how's it going with Caitlyn?" She glanced over at him, she could tell she hit something. "Oh, y'know, I hear about this stuff."

"You hear about this stuff? Or you read about this stuff?" He smiled and Alex felt giddy. She missed attention like this. The flirty banter, the second glances, Alex missed it all.

* * *

Jacob walked Alex to the door. "I had a great night, Jacob." Alex leaned in to give him a hug. They stood staring at each other for a bit, "We should do this more often. I miss this. More importantly, I miss us. I mean, sure, you were preoccupied and I was preoccupied when we were best friends but now that we've grown I think our relationship can be beneficial and super fun and-"

Jacob chuckled, "Okay, Alex, stop. You're rambling. Listen I'll talk to you sometime soon and tell Nate I said Hi and thanks for letting me borrow his lady for the night." Jacob said this as he walked back to his car. Alex's spirits deflated. Couldn't her one night off from Nate not involve Nate? Of course though, it's been five years. Anytime someone mentioned Alex Russo the name was attached with Nate Gray and vice versa.

As Jacob's sports car zoomed away, Alex waved at it as it went. She whispered, "Bye past." Alex turned around to the door, "Hello lonely night." _Possibly even future._ Her hand was on the door knob but she couldn't bring herself to open the door. When she enters the door, she'll realize that her husband had wanted to spend the night with another woman. She'll realize that she is only twenty-two and already her romantic life resembled that of a forty-five year old woman with a failed marriage. She'll realize that when she enters through that door, a smile won't be forming for the rest of the night. She opened and entered anyways.

Alex felt like she was hallucinating or something; she didn't remember leaving on any lights in the house. The lights in the kitchen were on. She went over to turn off the lights. "So, you're back." The voice startled Alex. She stumbled backwards as her heart was beating out of her chest.

Alex grabbed her chest, "Oh god Nate. You scared me." He was not happy and it was quite evident "What do you want Nate? Aren't you supposed to be with "Booty Call?"

Nate slammed his hand on the table, "Can you please mature? Stop calling her "Booty Call." In fact, stop mentioning her at all." Nate stood up and shoved a chair into the wall causing Alex to jump. "You think it's funny, don't you?" Alex didn't dare respond to his claim. "Well, I'm not the only one in this marriage who's being a cheater."

Alex held her coat to her chest as she fingered the charm on her necklace-a heart locket with Nate on one side and her on the other. Nate had given it to her when they were younger and he was in love with her. It was a birthday gift to her which of course she adored. She still wore it to this day. "I'm not cheating on you, Nate. I don't know what you're talking about?" They stood in silence as the tension lightened. "So, why aren't you at the Four Seasons?" Alex took a seat at the table they use to eat breakfast and dinner at together. Nate pulled his chair back and sat down.

He ran a hand threw his hair, "Yeah, I went b-"

"Finished so quickly? That's my baby, get in; get out. D'ya eff her hard?" Alex narrowed her eyes and said it playfully but she meant it to hurt. She set her coat down on the table and put her clutch on top.

Nate seemed really annoyed now. "Seriously, Alex, that's what I'm talking about. You're not mature enough for me?"

"Mature enough for you? You're not that mature either, mister. If you were you would've talked out whatever problem you thought we had in our marriage. That's what a mature man would've done. A boy would just chase the easiest girl he saw. Oh wait, that's what you did." Nate seemed like he was going to blow, "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Continue what you were going to say."

Nate cleared his throat, "Like I was saying. I did go but I left before we did anything." They sat at their table and stared at each other. Alex hadn't expected to see him home tonight, that's why she went out. Now it just felt weird talking to him about his sexual problems. He had been her's exclusively for six years. She never talked about him having sex with anybody else because it wasn't deemed necessary. It was like she was talking to one of her guy friends about how they were having problems with their erections and getting laid. She absent-mindedly said, "I had no idea that you actually have sex with her." Nate's eyes focused on Alex. Her face was turning red, "Wow, did I say that out loud?" Nate nodded his head. "Well," Alex stood up and grabbed her things. She began to walk away.

"Alex, wait. Did you actually think that I just made out with her?" Nate had an amused expression. Alex turned around. It wasn't that she didn't think they actually had intercourse. It was the realization that hit her as they sat there. "Come back. Let's just talk this out. Get the divorce going."

Alex frowned, "We'll talk about it later." She kept walking. _So, Nate wants a divorce... Nate wants a divorce. Nate wants a divorce._ Once she was on the stairs and out of Nate's sight, she dropped her things and screamed at the top of her lungs. She slowly fell to the step sobbing. Nate came running and immediately stopped as he saw his wife on the step crying in pain of a heartbreak.

xoxo

**Thank you for such kind reviews :) I really do love seeing them. I'd like to thank LEATHERnGOLD for reading and reviewing all four of the previous chapters. I'm sorry I haven't gotten around to individually thanking every reviewer; but, I'm hoping this makes up for it.**


	6. Chapter 6

Today was a new day. Alex hadn't shed a single tear for the past few days. Nate stopped magically appearing in Alex's bathroom when she woke up. And finally, it was a break day, a good day to relax and have fun with her bestie, Mitchie.

"Mitch, what do you want to do today?" Alex was laying on Mitchie's queen sized bed. It brought her back to those days when they were kids without a care in the world. "Mitchie! What are you doing in there that's taking you so long?" Alex squirmed around until she was on her stomach, "Mitch?" Mitchie came out of the bathroom with a pregnancy test in her hand. "Mitch..."

A single tear flew down Mitchie's cheek, "Alex..."

"Mitchie, please don't tell me you're pregnant?" Alex got up and kneeled on the bed.

Mitchie began to giggle, "Yaaay! Was that convincing enough? Well why am I even asking you, you totally fell for it." Mitchie threw the unused stick away. She pointed to the ring on her finger, "Dur, Alex. I know you're going to ask it. I'm still a virgin." She smiled stupidly, "Actually, I'm not. But it's not like it was out of wedlock because I'm practically married to the goofball anyways."

Alex sat dumbfounded, "I can't believe you, Mitchie! Why would you pretend that you were pregnant? Why would you fake that!"

Mitchie giggled again, "I have a role to practice for. So if I could fool you, I knew I'd done a pretty great job acting it out." Mitchie pranced around the room giddy with excitement.

Alex fell back to the bed, "Great, that's real great, Mitch. Thanks for scaring me half to death. No, not even, like all the way to death." Alex tried to make herself comfortable on the cloud-like comforter, "What'd you say about you being practically married to Shane?"

Mitchie couldn't keep it inside anymore, "Didn't you notice? I'm not wearing _my_ purity ring." Alex's eyes bugged out, she rolled over onto her stomach again and grabbed Mitchie's outstretched hand. She gaped at Mitchie's ring. "I know, it's gorgeous."

Alex fought to close her mouth but it just wasn't a possible task at the moment. "What is it, Mitchie?" Alex waited for Mitchie's answer but before Mitchie could answer Alex quietly said, "It's so pretty."

Mitchie giggled, "It's a ring, Alex. It's Shane's purity ring." For the next hour, Alex and Mitchie laid on Mitchie's bed and just stared at the ring.

* * *

Alex finally stopped staring at Shane's purity ring. It wasn't that it was pretty like for a girl, it was just that it was magnificent looking on Mitchie's dainty finger. Shane had it resized and refinished with a few diamonds. "So, is Shane home?" Mitchie didn't share a home with Shane. Mitchie lived in a suite and Shane stayed overnight sometimes.

Mitchie flicked some lint off her comforter, "Nope. Paparazzi are starting to come to my building too much. The doorman's not too happy that he has to be a bodyguard and bouncer." They both giggled at the lameness of the two jobs the doorman dubbed himself. "Why aren't you with Nate?" Alex froze. She didn't know how to answer the question. Everything that had been going on in their life together was left in the dark. It was better that way. If they left it in the dark, the paparazzi and the sleazy tabloid writers wouldn't know and it wouldn't hurt anybody's reputation. Mitchie punched Alex's arm playfully, "Yo, Alex! Why aren't you rushing home to Nate? It's eleven o'clock."

Alex snapped out of her daze, "Oh, I don't even think he's home. Can I sleep over tonight?"

Mitchie's face scrunched in confusion, "What do you mean you don't know if he's even at home or not? No, you can't sleep over tonight." Mitchie didn't mean to be mean but it was more of saying it like a mother to a child who was avoiding something that needed to be fixed or bettered. "Why don't you want to go home, Alex? Your house is huge, Nate's going to be lonely tonight if you don't at least go home to him."

Tears began to well up in Alex's eyes. She said she wasn't going to cry anymore. So why was she? "Mitchie, I can't go home tonight. I don't want to go home tonight. I don't even think I want to go home ever." Alex was becoming incomprehensible. Her words became slurred and her sobs became louder. "I don't. I can't, Mitchie." Mitchie held her friend in her arms and rocked her from side-to-side. Heartbreak was something these girls never went through before. "It hurts, Mitch." Mitchie didn't know how to treat the condition. These girls always had the perfect fairy-tale romance.

* * *

"Where were you last night?" Nate had been sitting at the dinner table with his cup of coffee and a newspaper in hand. Alex had just walked through the front door hoping that Nate wasn't home.

"Why do you care?" Alex threw her coat and purse onto the table but left on her sunglasses. She took a seat and grabbed Nate's coffee cup. While taking a sip, "I thought you would've been with "Booty Call." Nate slammed his papers down. Alex smiled, "Oh yeah that's right, you don't want me to call her "Booty Call."

Nate took a better look at Alex. He reached over to pull off her sunglasses, "What, are you too Hollywood for me now?" Alex thought of holding her sunglasses up to her face but she let them go anyways. Slowly, Nate removed the sunglasses and studied her eyes. Her swollen orbs pretty much told him why she didn't come home last night.

She took another sip before putting down the cup. "So, if you're done staring at me now, " Alex stood up and grabbed her things along with Nate's coffee, "I'll be going."

"Wait, Alex." Nate put the paper down and went over to Alex. He caressed her face and ran his thumbs lightly over her swollen eyes, "A warm towel will make the swelling go down." Alex opened her mouth to say something but Nate cut her off, "Let me get it for you."

He ran to get a monogrammed face towel from his room. When he came back, he rushed to warm the towel, "You can't do that." Nate stopped and gave her a questioning look before quickly returning to his task. "You can't just act like you love me one second and then hate me another."

"I don't hate you, Alex. I-I-I," Nate couldn't formulate a sentence let alone a thought. "I do love you, Alex."

Tears startled to trickle down Alex's cheeks again. Her hands flew to wipe them away. "No, no you don't. Not anymore." She shook her head; she could not believe she was about to ask this question, "Where are those divorce papers you were talking about?"


	7. Chapter 7

Shane had invited Alex and Nate over for lunch at his house. Shane didn't know what Mitchie knew. They had had an argument over it. Mitchie didn't want them both to come. She just wanted Alex. She argued that she cooked the meal and so she got to decide who got to come and who didn't get to come. Shane argued that they couldn't invite one half of a couple and refuse to invite the other. So, Shane won.

They arrived together with the paparazzi trailing behind. They climbed out and Nate went over to place his hand on Alex's lower back, something he use to always do when he led her to a door or something. Alex knew she shouldn't have but she pushed his hand off and kept walking as he fell behind. For all she knew, his heart didn't belong to her anymore. Along with the ownership of his heart came the title of wife, the permission of his hands on her all of it belonged to her but not anymore. Not now that another girl stole his heart away. "Alex, what are you doing? I always do that." Nate caught up with her before she rang the doorbell.

"Not now Nate." Alex nodded toward the paparazzi, "Especially not when they're right there."

"Well then let's go somewhere they won't be following us." Alex shook her head, "At least just come with me." Nate grabbed her hand and pulled her to Shane's backyard. They stood in the greenhouse. "Why'd you slap my hand away? It's normal that I put my hand there isn't it? It's not like I took you right there on the sidewalk."

"Gosh, you're seriously going to be talking about sex right now?" Alex rolled her eyes. "No, Nate. What you did is wrong. It felt wrong. It felt gross... So don't touch me there again." Alex pushed back a stunned Nate and entered the house through the back door.

Alex snaked through the rooms and when she finally heard Mitchie's voice she made a sound, "Mitchie?" She popped out from behind the walls and came into the kitchen with her arms outstretched to wrap around her best friend and her brother-in-law. "Thank you for having us."

Mitchie laughed, "Please, don't be thanking me yet. You didn't even eat my food yet."

Shane chuckled, "Yeah, just wait until you've tried her food."

Mitchie hit him with an oven mitt, "I hope you're not trying to say that I completely suck at cooking. I spent a lot of time preparing this meal while you were off watching sports."

"I'd never imagine insinuating such a thing, darling." Shane bent down and gave Mitchie a kiss on her cheek.

Mitchie laughed, "Yeah, me neither. Like this boy would ever watch sports while his woman was making food for something he planned." Alex genuinely smiled at that moment. It was like a glimpse from her past. Everything seemed like a glimpse from her past. As long as it was good, then it was something from her past. Alex, Shane, and Mitchie were sharing a laugh when Nate finally joined them. He did a sneak attack on Alex from behind. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to his chest and he kissed her cheek from behind. Alex froze. It shouldn't have felt so awkward for her. This was the man she loved for goodness sake.

Shane smiled, "Picture perfect moment. Gosh, wish I had my camera on me. Well, not a big deal. You guys always have moments like that." His heart-felt remark stabbed a stake through Alex's heart. Shane still didn't know what was going on and Alex couldn't blame him for making a comment like that. Had it been in the past, they all would've laughed at it and dispersed to do whatever they needed to do to finish preparing the meal. But now, it was different. Now, that comment just reminded her that she wasn't going to have anymore moments like those little ones that they shared daily. She wasn't going to live her picture-perfect life anymore. She supposed that the pressure of being picture-perfect was a factor in their choice to not divorce. A divorce would just taint them, their lives, their careers, and their reputations. Reputations were a thing to uphold. It's showbiz.

* * *

Alex was tired from her shared meal with the happy couple and Nate. She got ready for bed. Before she slipped into bed, she spotted something on her closet floor. She glided over to the thing that caught her eye. She picked it up and slid on the vertical blue striped men's oxford. It was a little big on her but she didn't care. She loved it either way. She ran over to her bed and slipped into the covers. She laid on her side but rolled over to Nate's. She missed him. His empty space on their bed that they previously shared felt cold ever since she realized that he was having an affair.

How could she have been so stupid to have missed all of the little things he did differently? He didn't bring home flowers anymore; she didn't mind too much. The flowers were expensive anyways but it was a sweet thought of him. He didn't bring her those little trinkets every once in awhile; she didn't mind too much. She didn't expect him to buy her jewelry every time he passed a jewelry store. He didn't call her by his cute little nick names; she did mind. He started to call her what everybody else called her—Alex. He only use to call her that when he was upset with her. That was the little tip off that he was angry anytime he called her that. But it became so often that she didn't think it was because he was upset with her. It was just the fact that he was drifting apart from her and he didn't share that affection with her. The tears trickled out of her eyes and left little tear stains on Nate's pillow case. Even though he hadn't been sleeping in that bed for awhile, it still smelled like him. His oxford shirt she slipped on still smelled like him too. Well, what could she say? She missed the fool.

Alex sniffled as she watched the minutes pass by on her digital clock. About an hour or two had passed when she heard her door click open. She was really close to falling asleep already but the click of the door kept her alert. Nate came in and looked over at Alex. He saw her wearing his favorite oxford shirt that she had given to him a few years back. He didn't think she was awake but he soon found out she was when she quietly whispered, "Nate? Is that you?"

He said quietly, "Yeah, go back to sleep, Allie. It's just me." Nate considered turning around and just going back to his south wing bedroom. What was he supposed to do now? He didn't even know why he came up here.

Alex wiped her nose and eyes, "Nate?" He responded with a quiet, "Yeah." "Are you coming to stay with me tonight?" How could Nate say 'no' now. "Sure."

Alex pulled the covers up over her shoulders, "Well, I don't want you too." She was being stubborn but she had to be. She needed to build a wall to protect her fragile heart—brick by brick.

Nate stopped in his tracks, "Allie?" He didn't know what possessed him to ask her this after she had still let him stay in the house and hadn't said a word about his cheating heart at dinner that night, "Do you still love me?" Alex sighed and was choked up on tears. She was so confused and her heart was conflicted. What was she supposed to say? Her heart said 'yes' but her head said 'no.'

Finally, she settled for, "It's complicated, Nate." Nate came over to the bed and slipped under the covers on Alex's side of the bed. He could see she was crying by the look on her face and by the tears that stained his pillowcase. Nate couldn't bear to see his girl cry. He wiped away the tears and pulled her in closer to him. He held her in his arms as she shook with sobs. Under his arms, he could feel her shaking lighten up. He figured she fell asleep. He held her closer for awhile but then let go. He felt awkward holding her. Alex could feel him loosen his grip, "Nate, just let go of me. Just leave. Your presence isn't needed. Your heart left a long time ago."

Nate sat up pulling Alex up along the way, "Hey, I was nice to you the entire night."

Alex sighed, "Do you want to hash this out right now? At twelve in the morning?" Alex stared at Nate. "Okay what is it that you want then?"

"I think I want a divorce." Nate couldn't have said it any faster.

"You think?" Alex sat waiting for confirmation but Nate didn't make a move. "You _think_ you want a divorce." Alex nodded her head. "Okay. You got it. Whatever you want you got it."

Nate was getting upset now, "What so you're just giving me up so easily?"

Alex was confused, "Giving you up? I lost a battle I didn't even know I was fighting in. By the time I realized that you were having an affair, I was humiliated. I was torn down. What was I supposed to do? I had all of it held in for so long, I just broke. I can't handle the stress of the media, of work, along with the stress of you cheating on me." Alex scooted away from Nate. "Marriage to me is a sacred union. You're bonded to me spiritually forever. But I don't want that anymore. I was young and naive. I should've listened to my mother. I regret it now. She saw how happy you made me. My father even didn't want me to marry you but after you reasoned and argued with him, he gave in." Alex shook her head, "I-I thought we were the perfect couple. I thought we were fine." Alex's demeanor changed, "All I needed was you to want me. That's all."

Nate sat dumbfounded. Alex wasn't one to spill all of her feelings in one breath. "Alex, I think I need to go back to my room."

Alex shook her head, "No. You can stay. I'm moving out."

xoxoxo

**Thanks so much for reviewing :) It means a bunch! I haven't gotten around to individually replying to your reviews yet but for now I'm really sorry that I have to settle for thanking you all collectively at once. Thanks again!**


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, Nate woke up and Alex wasn't filling the space next to him. They had fallen asleep after a while of stubborn silence. Neither of them wanted to speak first otherwise it would seem like they were conceding first. He looked around for her but he figured she must have left for work already—she was nowhere to be found in their large bedroom. He went to the closet expecting to find her there but it was empty—no person, no clothes. He went to their bathroom expecting her toiletries neatly lined up on the counter; they too were gone. He looked all over. Her things were gone and the room laid barren. Once she had taken all of his stuff out, it seemed pretty empty but now that she had also taken out her things, the room was desolate feeling. He finally settled on the bottom of the bed accidentally sitting on some fabric that didn't feel like the comforter. He pulled it up and examined it-his favorite oxford shirt. Alex had been wearing it last night. Alex. She sure wasn't kidding when she said she was moving out.

Alex had been getting ready for her next scene that was being shot for her latest sitcom. It was about two young teenagers getting married when all the odds were against them. Ironic how art imitates life. One final touch of blush on her cheeks and her dewy complexion was perfect. While she was quickly scanning over her lines again one of the producers walked into her dressing room, "Hey, Alex. You have a visitor. Be quick, your scene is going to be shot in a few minutes." And then the producer left. Alex got a bit excited. She loved visitors especially when they came and surprised her.

Alex jumped off her canvas wooden chair and quickly made her way to the hallway. When she stepped out, she was startled by what stood in front of her—Nate. "Hey." Alex and Nate stood and stared, "What are you doing here?" Her statement didn't come out like an attack of words but there was surprise in her voice along with calmness.

Nate pushed himself off the opposite wall he was leaning on, "Just wanted to come visit you on set. It seems like I haven't been here in forever."

Alex nodded, "Yeah. Some of the guys have missed you on set." Nate used to come every day, even on the table reading days. Any spare moment he could, he spent it with Alex. "I know some of them aren't taping right now. You can go get some breakfast with them." Alex nodded in the direction where the food was on a long table. Nate shook his head in response to her suggestion. "Okay... Well, I have to go shoot a scene. Do... do you want to come?" Alex was definitely hesitant. She hadn't gotten used to the fact that they weren't together anymore like they used to be. She was always having conflicting feelings and thoughts and it just came out badly. She seemed confused. One minute she's a sweetheart to him and the next she's a bitch. Alex stared at Nate for what seemed like hours until a producer came by to sweep her away, "Hey, you can come if you want."

Nate shook his head and called after her as she was being led away, "Nah, I'm going to go see a friend on Lot 6. Meet you there for lunch?" Alex waved as a response of yes as she walked further and further away from the spot that she was surprised by Nate's visit.

Once she got on set and members of the lighting crew were bustling around to find the right lighting, Alex got the chance to wonder, '_What's on Lot 6?_" She turned to her co-star who stood half a foot taller than her without his blond floppy hair spiked up. "Who's on Lot 6?"

Her co-star racked his brain for the answer, "Isn't that the Lot that Alexis Texas is starting her new teen drama on?" He shrugged and went back to trying to button up the top button of his button-up shirt. After a couple of seconds, Alex just swatted away his hands and buttoned it for him. She was used to it. She did it for Nate all of the time. Well, used to.

Alex mindlessly repeated what her handsome co-star said, "Alexis Texas... Alexis Texas. Alexis Texas?" Alex stopped fixing his collar to think for a second about Alexis Texas. Of course she knew who Alexis Texas was, she even knew her personally but she was mulling over what reason Nate would have to go over to her set instead of staying on his wife's. Alex stopped pondering and her face drained pale. She suddenly realized why.

"Alex, we need to start in 5, 4, 3..." the camera man fingered two then one and she was expertly doing her job.

xoxo

**Thanks for reading! I have a poll up on my profile regarding this story. L_is_for_Left asked me how long this story is going to be and I already have an idea of how long this story is going to be but I want to hear from you :) So answer in the poll and don't forget to review :D**


	9. Chapter 9

Alex finished her scenes earlier and quickly made her way over to Lot 6. Her and Nate hadn't exactly signed any papers yet and she wasn't so sure when they would sign them. All she knew was that she didn't want to sign it. She was upset that Nate would think of cheating on her but she still loved him and when she said "Forever and Always" she meant forever and always. She slipped through to Lot 6 and it was heavily barricaded with security.

"Are you on the list, miss?" The security guard boomed out an outlandish question. On her set, there wasn't a few walls of security guards in front of the door. Alex shook her head. "Then, I'm sorry but you need to back away."

Alex smiled demurely, "My husband's inside. He told me to meet him there." Alex pointed toward the door. The security guard shook his head and stood firm. Alex sighed, "Sir, I'm Alex Gray. I'm not on the list but I promise you, I'm not a threat of any kind to any of the people on that set." The security guards still wouldn't let her in. Alex insisted on getting in but instead she settled for waiting by the door. She tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for something in her status to change.

After about an hour, Alex was seriously considering just leaving the set and not even meeting up with Nate for lunch. She backed up to the wall and slid down it running a hand through her hair. She sat on the filthy floor waiting. A few minutes later, Nate came out with another girl. He walked further away from the door but Alex didn't say anything. She just sat. She just watched. Nate must've noticed her because he stopped and quickly turned around. He saw her sitting on the ground and came over, "What are you doing on the ground... sweetie." Alex cringed. His sweet little nick name he just called her seemed so forced and second thought.

Alex shrugged, "I've been waiting for you." Nate nodded the other girl off. "Did you forget that you made plans with me?" Alex didn't mean to sound naggy but that's what it sounded like. She was just asking out of curiosity.

Now it was Nate's turn to shrug, "I had a lot of things on my mind." Alex stood up with a huff. They stood awkwardly staring at each other. It wasn't helping that they were also standing next to large buldging men. Alex shrugged again and dipped her head down. Their staring contest had become intense and meaningless. She began to walk away with no clear purpose as to why she went. "Hey!" Nate grabbed onto her arm and she spun around.

"What?" She remained quiet not wanting to cause a scene.

"Are we not going to lunch?" Alex's eyes opened wide. He was seriously asking her if they were still going out to lunch together when he obviously didn't care enough to make sure that he remembered. In the past when he made plans with Alex, he would always remember and send her cute little reminders or count downs to when they would see each other for their rendez-vous. He was romantic about it not hasty like he was now. He planned things out and made sure every detail was set ahead of time.

"No, we're not." Her voice was light but her eyes were intense. She ripped her arm out of Nate's grip and continued, "It's a beautiful day. I think I'll ask somebody to lunch." Nate's eyebrows knitted with confusion. "Maybe I'll ask Newt."

Nate was a bit outraged, "Newt?" How could he not be? His wife just chose some guy who worked with her for a few weeks over him, her husband. "Why are you going to ask your co-star when your husband already asked you?"

Alex shrugged, "I don't have a husband." Her words cut through him with such an edge that could've left his heart bleeding out gasping for help. She saw emotion flash in his eyes but she didn't decipher it as pain. "I got to go. Before lunch time's over." She walked away without even looking back.

xoxo

**Thank you to everybody who commented! It means a whole lot. I still need to get around to replying to everybody individually. I think I'll start at chapter 10? Don't forget to leave a review and vote in the poll :) So far, the results are really indecisive.**


	10. Chapter 10

Alex didn't actually move out. She just moved all of her stuff out to the garage and set up camp in the pool house. If she had gone anywhere else with that much stuff, somebody was bound to see her. She also probably would've gone to Mitchie's and that would've just caused a frenzy. _People Magazine_ already had her on their cover as the adulterous wife. They were vultures when they caught her out with Jacob. Funny how it was only one night of a private dinner between two friends and it turned out to be a huge ordeal. Yet, Nate had been cheating on Alex for weeks or months now and nobody had caught him.

When Alex went grocery shopping for her new abode, she was sure to stock up for two houses-the pool house and the main house. She didn't want Nate to starve and she knew he would starve himself, eat out or get take out. All of those choices couldn't have possibly been healthy or financially sound after a while. Alex stepped back to admire her work. She'd just rearranged the main house's refrigerator and organized the pantry. Why she hadn't tried a little feng shui in her kitchen before was a mystery to her. She giggled at her silly thought and flipped on some music in her kitchen. As she was putting some things into the cabinets she was shimmying around and hardly noticed the slam of the door.

Nate came rushing to the source of the music. He stood with his mouth gaping open when he saw his happy wife salsa-ing across the room with a mug in both hands. "What are you doing here?" Alex quickly set down the coffee cups and turned off the music.

"Oh hey Nate... I didn't think you'd be home for a while." She stood hunched over leaning on the counter top. "I actually thought you'd be at the Four Seasons." Alex stood up straight and smoothed the wrinkles that were forming on her shirt. She felt naked under Nate's searching eyes. "Nate?" Her fingers immediately flew up to the locket around her neck. They wrapped around the little heart shaped locked protectively as she continued, "What are you doing here?" She knew it was pretty much the afternoon and that didn't necessarily mean that he had to be at the Four Seasons all day with "Booty Call" but it just surprised her that he would've been at home rather than anywhere else.

Nate scoffed, "What do you mean 'what are you doing here?' I live here." He set down his keys and went to the dishwasher to continue where Alex left off, "It's my house now, right? You're not supposed to be here." Alex frowned. "I don't need you to be putting my dishes away." Nate was making a lot of noise putting away the dishes. The clinging of the glass plates made Alex nervous. She swiftly walked over and lightly laid a hand on Nate's to stop him. He looked at her with eyes so angry that she shrunk back and took her hand with her. "You don't live here anymore. You need to go back to where ever it is that you're living." His voice cracked with emotion. Alex didn't know what to do next. She didn't know whether or not she should've just left at that moment or stay to help with whatever. Instead she opted for trying to calm him down. She soothingly stroked his arm with her left hand. It was obvious that she wasn't the only one hurting from his actions. Or at least, he was showing signs of regret. His words may have been pushing her away but the tone that he took them blatantly still showed that he had feelings for her.

He set the plates down and grabbed her hand stroking him roughly. Her eyes suggested physical pain but he didn't loosen. He pulled off her wedding ring. Her eyes widened with surprise. He was taking her wedding ring away from her. One of the rare concrete things that proved that at one point, Nate did love her. Her heart was breaking all over again. Tears were starting to pool in her eyes. She couldn't breath. The intense feeling in her chest was unbearable. Nate swatted away Alex's other hand which was resting on her heart locket-the other concrete thing that proved that Nate loved her-he ripped the locket away from her neck. She didn't cry. All of it was stuck inside. She hurried away to her car shocked at Nate's most recent actions.

She jumped into her car and didn't sit either. She drove out of her driveway in a rush but was soon stopped by all of the paparazzi crowding around the outside of her gate. She was unable to continue anywhere else. Turning off her car, she sighed and hid her hand quickly. She smiled for the cameras slowly and noticed that they all had suddenly got more rowdy than they already were. At first she shrugged it off but when she began to feel little drops of wetness soak her jeans she realized that she was crying and that's why the paparazzi had all of a sudden seemed like a bunch of New York pigeons fighting over a single piece of sandwich bread. Her body was numb but she quickly wiped away the tears with her shaky hands. Her heart was pounding in her skin. Her breath became short and she was having a panic attack again.

xoxo

**Just a little update on the poll: As of right now, the choices are tied! So, if you guys really want a certain length, please vote or leave it in a review. Thanks for reading and reviewing!**


	11. Chapter 11

Alex woke to the sound of a beeping noise in a strange room. It was apparent that the decorator tried to make the room seem like home but they failed miserably and only made Alex feel more disoriented. She shifted under the scratchy white quilt somebody had laid on top of her. Staying still for a bit, she scanned the room again more closely unlike before when her vision hadn't yet focused, she noticed the multitude of machines behind her all displaying familiar numbers and lines but yet still foreign to her knowledge. She noticed the overwhelming number of gaudy floral arrangements and 'Get Well' baskets tucked on one side of her room. The fluorescent light bulbs above her remained off as natural light flooded in from the window-she had a nice view of the ocean. She pushed herself up and felt her hand tangled in wires that led to those odd machines. Her throat was dry and she was confused. Obviously she was in the hospital but she didn't know why.

And that's when he came in. Her eyes widened like a deer caught in headlights. "Alex, lay down." He came in with purpose and obvious anger. Alex did as she was told out of fear and tiredness. She tried to make herself more comfortable but comfort was not going to be achieved with this hospital bed. He dropped some cotton quilts from their home at the bottom of her bed. She squirmed from the surprise of the thump the quilts made on her feet.

"Nate?" Her throat still remained dry causing her words to come out with difficulty and hoarseness. His eyes darted to hers and they immediately softened. His hair was disheveled like he had shoved his hands into his hair out of frustration. His oxford shirt was half untucked from his tight skinny jeans. "What happened?" Her head was throbbing all of a sudden and she reached for the glass of water on the night stand but it was out of her reach. He stomped over and shoved the glass closer to her causing some of the contents to spill over the rim. She frowned but grabbed the glass anyways.

"You had another panic attack." Alex choked on her water, "What? I don't remember that." Nate shook his head and sighed, "Yeah, you did. In front of all those paparazzi, Alex. In front of all of them!" He slammed his hand down on the night stand, startling Alex. He ran a hand through his hair roughly, "Do you know what this means Alex?" She shook her head and took another sip of water. "It means that we're going to be on front pages everywhere for the wrong reasons, damn it!" Alex wanted so badly to just get away from him. She didn't want to talk to him right now. But where was she supposed to go? She was stuck here. "You need to release a statement about what happened."

Alex shrugged, "I had a panic attack. There's nothing more to say." Nate sighed.

"Alex, that's not all. You weren't wearing your ring. I didn't come out to get you. It's a wonder the paparazzi even got you out of your stupid car." The reminder of their last meeting between her and Nate made her shiver. It was a totally different Nate. It wasn't the Nate that she loved. Nate took her ring from her. It seemed juvenile to be even thinking of such a materialistic thing and whine about it being taken away but it was her's. It was a symbol of their love. Sure it was a bit opulent and Alex didn't want a showy ring but it came from Nate. She loved Nate and so she loved the ring. Out of habit she reached for her heart locket but it wasn't there. Embarrassed she quickly dropped her hand. Tears slowly fell from her brown eyes. She couldn't breathe and her cheeks were burning hot. In attempt to cover up her feelings, she pulled her legs in and hid her face. Nate noticed her actions and added them together to predict what might happen next. He hesitantly placed his hand on her back and began to rub. The pressure of his wedding ring on her back caused her to shiver, "Alex, please, stop." He wasn't as soothing as he used to be. If softly talking to her wouldn't work then he would sing to her. He would sing the songs that he wrote that she loved. But he didn't go there today. "Alex, calm down." She pushed his hand away and he became upset, "Fine, if you don't want me to help, then fine." His response was so juvenile but it hurt. It hurt for reasons he couldn't comprehend. Why would he care? Why did he care?

Alex sniffed, "I don't need you to take care of me, Nate." Alex lifted her head up from behind her legs, "I'm a big girl now. I'm old enough to drink, legally." Nate didn't move. Alex mentally slapped herself. At a time like this, all she could think of saying was that she was legally able to drink? Pathetic. Alex squirmed on the hospital bed, aware of how awkward and tense their situation was at the moment. She buried her head back into her arms.

Nate snorted, "Whatever, Alex, I'm old enough to drink legally too. It's not a big deal." Alex sighed, from all of the things that happened today, all he could do was not notice her.

Alex mumbled with her head buried and her words muffled, "Do not blame me for what happened today. I had nothing to do with it." Alex slowly breathed in and out making sure that she kept her breathing level.

"What do you mean don't blame you? You're the center of all of this. It's your fault the paparazzi are going to have rumors about us all over the place. It's all on you." Nate was raising his voice. Good thing Alex didn't have a room mate.

Alex's voice was shaky and she couldn't bear to hear all of Nate's accusations. She unraveled herself and turned to lay down on her side so that her back was facing Nate. She practically whispered but Nate still heard her, "I don't want to talk about it right now. I just want to go home."

Nate stomped out of the room and slammed the door behind him. It caused Alex to jump a bit and shut her eyes tightly. She whispered softly to herself, "Nate, why are you leaving me?" A single tear fell from her closed lids, "Why don't you love me anymore?" She wiped her cheek and tucked her hand back under her head, "I just want you beside me. That's all I want." Alex continued whispering to herself as she fell asleep.

xoxo

**Thanks so much to you guys! Expect some replies to your reviews very soon. This time I mean it :D Right now we're tied again between 10-20 long chapters and 20-25 medium-ish chapters. So please don't forget to vote if you haven't yet :)**


	12. Chapter 12

Alex plopped onto the stiff leather wheel chair. "Do I actually have to sit in this thing?" Alex directed her question to the burly nurse behind her with unruly curls.

"Yes'm. It's protocol."

Alex sighed, "Okay, then." She tried to relax and placed her arms on the cold metal.

"Is there anything I can do to make it more comfortable for you, dear?" Sure the nurse was surly but she had a kind heart and a sweet voice to match it. "How about your cute hubby?" The nurse made it sound so cute like her grandmother might have said it. Alex shook her head furiously but Nurse Cherise had already gone to get Nate. Just as Alex called back for Nurse Cherise to say 'No, don't grab him,' Nurse Cherise had already gotten him and he was on his way towards Alex with a few get-well baskets. Alex shrunk back into her seat.

"You called?" Nate sounded so agitated.

"No, I didn't." Alex said it so nonchalantly but really she wasn't just about to tell him everything straight out. "I think Nurse Cherise should be coming back soon."

"No, she's not. She told me to take you to the car. She's going to grab your quilts." Alex shook her head.

"That's fine. I can just walk." Alex pushed herself off of the wheelchair and fixed her shirt.

"Alex, sit down. I'll take you. I don't mind." Alex looked at Nate wearily. She let herself down slowly back onto the cold wheelchair. Nate struggled to hold the get-well baskets and push Alex but Alex grabbed the get-well baskets and placed them in her lap. They were on their way to Nate's SUV.

As they got to the car, they both could hear the rattling and yelling of the sleazy reporters and the paparazzi. Nate took the baskets and put them in the back. Alex got up out of the wheelchair and quickly opened the car door. Nate rushed over to help Alex in. She gave him a shocked look but rethought her facial expression and hid her feelings quickly. Any picture the paparazzi could get would be manipulated to her disadvantage. "Hey babe, Nurse Cherise is still inside." Alex totally forgot that she wasn't going to be sweet towards Nate anymore. With the paparazzi around she practically forget everything except her usual way of ignoring them or interacting with them.

Nate must've forgotten too, "Yeah, I'll go help her." Before he closed the door, he leaned in to give Alex a kiss. It was a quick brush of the lips but it was still somewhat of a kiss. Alex knew it didn't mean much. That was just the norm of their routine. Alex sat quietly as her cheeks burned with embarrassment. What did they just do? Did they just kiss?

* * *

Alex kissed Nurse Cherise goodbye as Nurse Cherise saw them off. Nurse Cherise definitely was a force to be reckoned with. She shooed off the paparazzi from the gate without any security to help her. Alex loved that woman even though she only knew Nurse Cherise for a few days. Nurse Cherise practically spent every waking moment with her except for sometimes when Nate was around. As they drove away, Alex calmly said with a smile, "When I have a baby, I want Nurse Cherise to be my nurse." Alex relaxed into the leather chair of Nate's Cadillac Escalade. Nate tensed at her side. Alex did notice, "Hey." She called to him softly, "Just because I said when I have a baby, it didn't mean I was inferring that you'd be the father." She sighed and looked out her window.

After about ten minutes of silence, Nate broke it, "Hey, where are you staying?" Nate was drumming his fingers lightly on the steering wheel as he waited for her response.

Alex was hesitant to answer because he didn't know that she hadn't really gone anywhere, "Um... I'm staying in the pool house." After she said that, she felt like an intruder in her own home.

Nate turned to her, "You've been staying in the pool house this entire time?" He asked her in disbelief.

Alex nodded, "Yeah, I'm not stupid Nate. I'm not going to move out to another house or apartment and risk people saying stuff you don't want them to say." Alex played with her thumbs. She reached over to turn the radio on but Nate grabbed it with a free hand and his other on the wheel. She let her hand limp as he shift his above her's in a comfortable position and held it on the arm rest in between them.

"Stay in the house with me."

Alex pulled her hand back, "No. Don't give me free hand-outs, Nate. I don't need them." Alex tucked some hair behind her ear and clasped her hands together. "Especially from you." Her eyes fell to her hands as she sat their stiffly.

Nate pulled his hand back to the wheel, "What is your problem?" His voice was raising, "Why are you being so damn stubborn?"

Her head shot up and she glared at Nate, "I'm not being stubborn. I'm being strong!"

"And what the hell do you need to be strong for?" Nate was clearly upset. Alex was once again bursting at the seams with every emotion she couldn't name.

"I have to be strong, Nate." She was enunciating each of her words. "It's easier to be strong. If I'm not strong, I'll break. Don't you understand that!" Alex was on the verge of tears but she was too stubborn for that. She plopped back into the seat and turned her body toward the window. "Just take me to Mitchie's."

* * *

"Hi, honey!" Mitchie grabbed Alex in for a hug as Nate and Alex stood awkwardly in front of her apartment door. "I know I just saw you this morning; but I feel like it's been too long!" Mitchie pulled away to get a better look at the two. "So, what are you guys doing here?" They all looked at each other but before any of her guests could say anything Mitchie stuck her head out of her door and looked up the stairs. To her friends she said, "Hey, let's go inside. I think we have some eavesdropper." Right after she finished her sentence, they heard somebody trip, their feet running, and their door slamming shut. Mitchie ushered both of them into her apartment.

"Mitchie, I was wondering if I could stay here tonight?" Nate stood awkwardly with his hands pushed into his pockets. Mitchie's face twisted with confusion.

"Why?" Mitchie went to sit down on the couches and both Alex and Nate followed. "It's not that I wouldn't want you to stay over, it's just that I want to know why? You just got out of the hospital, Alex. Doesn't it sound nice to just go home and sleep in your own bed, under the covers that you bought?" Alex didn't look sold, "Comfy, nice, warm." Mitchie dragged out her words. Alex still didn't look sold. "No?" Mitchie shook her head, "Okay, then."

Alex sighed, "Please, Mitch? A sleepover is much overdue anyways!" Mitchie shook her head. "No, Mitch, please? I'm practically begging here. Begging!" Alex held her hands together and stuck out her bottom lip.

"Alex, no. Nate, tell her!" Mitchie pointed at Nate. Once she realized he wasn't going to help back her up, she continued, "Yeah, okay. Listen whatever it is going on between you two, figure it out." She sounded harsh but it was needed. The two were acting like two middle schoolers who just broke up. "Figure it out before I get involved." Mitchie stood up, "I love you guys but go home." Nate got up quickly as Alex slowly rose from the couch. She ushered them both out of her apartment and right before they exited, Mitchie pulled Alex in for a hug, "I'm sincerely glad that you're better and are out of the hospital. Call me."

Nate and Alex quickly made it to Nate's SUV. Nate had to quickly drive away because the paparazzi spotted them and started chasing after them. "So, are we good then? Do you want to stay in the house or what?" Nate was lightly tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

Alex was still being stubborn, "Whatever." She shifted in her seat and began to play with her fingers.

Nate huffed, "I was trying to make a genuinely nice gesture, the least you could do is say thank you."

Alex mumbled under her breath, "Yeah, I stock your kitchen constantly, the least _you_ can do is say thank you." She shifted in her seat again. She was trying to assuage her nausea. Her stomach was churning. "Nate." Her voice was shaky and she was taking deep breaths. "Nate." Nate turned to her but couldn't understand why she had repeated his name twice. She unbuckled herself and took a few more deep breaths, "Nate." A twisted expression emerged on her face, "Oh, gosh." She bent over and puked all over the floor of the passenger seat.

After a few minutes of puking, Alex relaxed. She remained in a fetal position sitting on her seat. "I'm sorry, Nate... I didn't mean to ruin your car." Nate pulled over. His hand reached over to her back and rubbed it up and down.

"Alex," Nate sighed, "it's okay. Don't worry about it." He continued to rub her back soothingly. "You okay?" His hands were sending tinglies all down her spine. The tinglies were accompanied by butterflies. The butterflies really weren't helping her nausea. Alex shook her head as fast as she possibly could without becoming even more nauseous. She slowly pushed Nate's hand away. He seemed irritated that she pushed him away. Alex knew, she could practically feel his hurt emanating off of him.

She had to explain before she accidentally started another argument with him, "Hey," She tried to speak as loudly as she could. She was drained of energy. "I appreciate what you're doing..." She didn't want to tell him the exact reason why she was feeling extremely nauseous, "I just feel extremely nauseous." She felt aimlessly around for Nate's hand, "Hey, I know my hand might be kinda gross but wanna hold it anyways?" She giggled but then remembered that she felt queasy.

Nate grabbed her hand and held it tightly. It surprised Alex and she took a sharp intake of breath. "I'd love to hold your hand anytime." She smiled and she wanted to sit up to assuage the nauseous feeling but she didn't want to look gross in front of Nate.

She whispered, "Can you hand me a napkin, please?" He fumbled around to find a napkin and finally found a face wipe. Alex always put a box of face wipes in their cars. It was gentle enough to use on their hands and if they got anything on their faces then it was gentle enough for that too. It was a total mom move. He handed it to her. She wiped her face slowly leaving a light scent of lavender. She slowly came back up and Nate used his other hand to help her up. "Thank you." She turned to him and they just stared at each other. It definitely wasn't awkward just sitting there together, holding hands. "So, let's go home?" Nate nodded his head and let go of her hand to turn the key in the ignition. Her heart deflated a little but once he got back on the road, he quickly intertwined his fingers back to the place they were just a minute before. She got those butterflies again. She calmly told herself to chill out and suppress the butterflies until they got home at least.

* * *

On the short ride home, Nate had to pull over a few times for Alex to puke. Once they got to the house, Alex slowly got out and Nate helped her to the couch. She was feeling much better. "Thank you, Nate." He mumbled a yeah and sat down next to her. Her gaze followed his every move.

"We can bring your stuff in later." Nate relaxed into the couch. "For now, let's just relax." He pulled Alex over to lean on him. She did as he guided and eventually she just fell asleep. -

When Alex woke up a few hours later, it was dark outside and there was a savory smell wafting from the kitchen. Alex pushed herself up and looked toward the kitchen. She could see Nate rushing around to the stove and the sink. She smiled at his confusion. He obviously did not know what he was doing. She got up slowly and made her way over to him. She saw the open cook book and skimmed over it. Glancing over what Nate had done so far, she could tell he'd been at this for awhile but hadn't gotten very far. "Baby," she startled Nate, "I'm going to wash up. Then, we can order takeout or something." Nate listened to her and chuckled.

"Sounds good, babe." He started cleaning up the pots and dumping things into the trash can and sink. She smiled as she watched him do his cleaning. After a second, she walked herself up to her master bath. When she walked in, it was completely different than she had last left it. Her master bedroom and master bath were completely filled with her belongings just like how they were before she "moved out." Even more surprising, Nate's belongings were back in the room too. It was sweet of Nate to try and do all of this for her but where did that leave them then? What did it all mean? When Alex had gotten married, she thought that that would be the last time ever she would have to think of the status of her relationship. She didn't actually think that she would have a need to ponder over a question when she was already married. They were supposed to be _Forever and Always_. Well, weren't they?

It was kind of humorous how all of this had turned out. Her current situation was a total whirlwind and when she was starting her new life, this was never part of the plan. She never thought that she would ever have to protect her heart from breaking. Here she stood, reflecting on her life. She was still young. Why was she thinking like the end of her relationship with Nate was the end of her life? This could be the start of a new life from that new life that obviously wasn't working. What happened to her fairytale? Whatever happened, she wanted to come out on top.

* * *

After about half an hour of washing up, Alex went downstairs. She saw Nate standing in the kitchen ordering something on the phone. He seemed manly. Attractive. Strong. She didn't know what overtook her but she walked over to him, grabbed him, and kissed him square on the lips. Nate didn't respond at first. He tensed. What was Alex doing? He relaxed and reciprocated Alex's actions. Of course, this surprised Alex. What were they doing? Well, things got out of hand. They were like two hormone-crazed teenagers who hadn't had human touch in years. Both grabbed for random body parts of the other body. Groping each other and taking sharp intakes of breath when needed. Alex walked backwards to the couch and Nate followed her never breaking contact. Nate slowly laid Alex down and undressed her quickly. Alex also did the same to Nate. And the rest was the bees and the birds.

As Alex lay there naked on the ground with Nate laying beside her resting his head on her rising and falling chest and gripping her waist with a strong hold, she thought back to the events that just occurred. He had kissed her with so much passion. It felt like he meant it. Did he mean it? Did any of this mean any thing? Why did everything have to have another meaning? When all of it happened, nothing ran through her mind. It was as if her mind went blank. Did she even enjoy the sex? She screamed his name loud enough. A waft of hot air struck Alex's sweaty body. She shivered from the sensation with her hairs sticking on end. Nate shifted on top of her. She heard him hum and suddenly he was awake.

"Hey baby." He slurred in syrupy words with a smile as he reached up and kissed her jawline moving down to her ear lobe and nibbling oh so slightly to make her go crazy. She squirmed beneath him with the slightest giggle. He moved down to her neck eliciting a moan from her. He made sure to leave his mark on her. They began to fool around and repeat what they had just finished. After a few minutes, his breathing became heavy to match her's. He slurred out, "Oh... God... I love you, Allie." Alex's breath bubbled up in her throat. Did he... did he just say that he loves her? Alex pushed him off, him landing on the ground abruptly. Alex gasped.

She whispered, "Sorry." She quickly turned her sight towards him, "I didn't mean to... push you." Alex pushed herself up. Her tousled hair settled on her shoulders messily. She looked back at him, "What are we doing?" It hurt to ask him this. What they were doing was what a married couple should do. They should be having mindless sex on the carpeted floor of their living room. They should feel like they belong in each others' arms forever. Nate gave her a confused look. Adamantly, she said, "You said you love me, Nate." Her fists were clenched. She felt awkwardly exposed in front of him just staring at her body. His eyes skimmed up and down her body. Her arms flew to hide her naked self. "Nate!" Her eyes demanded a response.

Nate sighed, "Yeah, yeah. Okay, I said I love you. So what?" Alex's eyes widened. He completely acted as though throwing around those three words was normal... especially with the girl he was cheating on. She shook her head; she was not about to let him just roll it off his tongue and not mean it.

"You obviously don't mean it..." She scrunched up. Nate gave her a questioning look. "So don't say it." Pushing herself up off the ground, she grabbed her clothes in a pathetic attempt to cover herself. And, Nate watched as she hurried away.

xoxo

**I hope the last part wasn't too provocative! Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed it! Thanks for reading and reviewing :)**

**Oh, and to Ashleigh: No I actually haven't thought about putting this onto Youtube. Thank you for the compliment and the thought! I don't know if I'll be putting it on there; I'm extremely lazy :)**

**to Laura: I'm assuming that you're the reader from You Are The One From Me and I want to thank you for reading The Married Life :) I know it's a bit different but I hope you like it all the same, if not more!  
**


	13. Chapter 13

"Wake up, baby." Alex was shaken awake by Nate. She swatted him away to no avail. Nate still persisted and she kept pushing him away. Gosh dang it, what did Nate want.

Alex shot up, "What, Nate? What is it? Why are you shaking me?" Alex was annoyed but far from angry.

Nate smiled, "I made you breakfast." Alex looked at her clock; it reading only 6:00 AM. She blew out some air moving hair out of her face. Six AM? She didn't have work today did she? Nate noticed her confused face, "It's Saturday... You don't have to go to the studio at six today." Alex fell back to her pillow and buried her head into it. "But, I made you breakfast. I thought it'd be nice to have breakfast together. I mean last night was... last night was amazing, Alex." The smirk on Nate's face obviously proved that he was reminiscing back to last night's escapades. "It felt great." Alex's eyes shot open. What was he talking about? Alex thought back to last night.

In her mind, she rewound the night and remembered something thinking, "Oh crap!" She had given into his pressure, and they acted like two newlyweds celebrating their marriage on their first night of being husband and wife.

Alex snapped out of her recap of last night when she felt his soft lips gently lay themselves on her bare shoulder. He made his way up to her ear lobe, nibbled, then whispered sweet nothings into her ear. Last night was completely not how their marriage had been for awhile. She was disappointed that somehow she had become the other woman to the other woman. Nate on the other hand was not feeling disappointed or guilty. He had great sex last night. What else could be plaguing his thoughts?

After she ate breakfast with Nate, Alex had quickly gotten ready to go to the set to begin filming the next installment of her new series. She didn't know what possessed her to allow Nate to have sex with her last night. It sure wasn't because she was lonely or anything... Or at least that's what she kept insisting to herself. Alex couldn't deny though, that she did feel something different. She felt those awkward butterflies in her stomach and the unexpected smile growing on her face at random moments during the day. What the heck was wrong with her? She thought and thought. After mulling over it for awhile during the first half of her day, she came to the conclusion that Nate was giving her attention again. She liked it... But perhaps it was because she really missed the intimacy and not because it was just Nate. One thing was for certain, she enjoyed the way she made Nate grab onto her like that. She was pleased that he kept coming back for more. Sure, it was unconventional and not the way she planned to spend an entire evening, especially since she just came home from the hospital and all, but it was spontaneous. Unplanned. Something that she needed. What with all the plans Nate had been making, the divorce and the several bookings per week at the Four Seasons with that other woman, this one little unexpected evening was quite refreshing.

"Nate," Alex laid her hand on Nate's hand on top of the little compartment in between their seat in his car. He was driving them to dinner for the third time that week (It had been a hassle because the paparazzi followed them everywhere now). They'd been having a pretty cooperative week and they had been getting along pretty well. The online blogs were starting to settle down a little and the paparazzi didn't hound at their gate anymore. Alex didn't know what made them stop but it was pleasant to have it the way it was before. Nice and quiet. Nate looked over at her signifying her to continue, "maybe, we should stay at home tonight. Just relax. Watch a movie." Alex was tired.

Nate seemed to be pondering it. He nodded and made a quick U-turn at the next stop light. As they sat in silence, Alex began to wonder about a bunch of things that hadn't occurred to her that might have been important. Why did it seem like Nate never went anywhere anymore? Alex received another phone call from the Four Seasons asking for the confirmation of the cancellation of all of the future reservations under the name Nick Jonas. Alex knew it was one of Nate's cover names so she knew that the cancellation was on Nate's part. Alex told the concierge to call back at a later time. It gave her partial hope but then again Nate could've just been taking that other woman back to their house which would be exponentially worse. Another thing she wondered over was did she still love Nate? Did he still love her? Was she doing the wrong thing for forgetting his mistake so quickly? She practically swept it under the carpet. Problems like this always resurfaced somewhere and typically it resurfaced in the worst place possible—the tabloids. Alex abruptly released Nate's hand from her's and awkwardly shifted in her seat. If Nate noticed, he didn't seem too fazed by it. She began to feel insecure again. They had been getting comfortable again and things were going back to the fairy-tale life. She needed to talk about this with him. She couldn't let it tear at her anymore.

"Nate, please be honest with me when you tell me who that other girl was." Alex stared straight forward. She was tense and the air was thick. Alex's throat dried up and she didn't know if she could say anymore. She croaked out as best she could when he didn't answer, "I know it's something that we kinda put away... But I want to know." Alex took some more time to roll over what she was going to say next. "I'm not going to be..." Alex couldn't seem to finish her words. If she said that she wasn't going to be mad than she'd be lying. If she said that she wasn't going to care than she'd be lying. If she said that she wasn't going to go berserk when she found out than she'd be lying. Any way she sliced it, she would be lying.

Nate tightly gripped the steering wheel with both of his calloused hands. How could he answer her question? Should he blatantly say it? Should he keep it a secret? She seemed like she really wanted to know. Should he allow her to just wonder for the rest of their lives together? "I..." Nate couldn't seem to bring himself to finish. Seems like the cat got both of their tongues. Alex's eyes darted over to Nate. How could this night have turned out to be so awkward. "We're not normal, Allie." She didn't seem to understand. "We're not doing everything normal."

Alex shifted in her seat. She was kind of stunned. What kind of answer was that? Why couldn't he just answer her honestly and not avoid the question? The anger was growing in her, "What do you mean we're not normal?" She sat there and waited for his answer. It didn't come. "We're not normal because we're different, Nate! We're not normal because we're _famous_." She spit out the word with such venom it surprised him. "We're not normal because we're Hollywood royalty!" She sat and counted to ten. More calmly she continued, "We're not normal because I love you, you don't love me, you cheated on me, then you pretend to love me again while you still have feelings for another girl." Alex felt alienated and embarrassed. She felt cold on her left side and the only way to fix the chill was to get away from Nate. She blew out some air, "I love you and all you can do is have sex with me as a filler for the other girl." She slumped in her seat as Nate drove home speechless. Alex was on the verge of tears but she wasn't about to show him anymore emotion tonight.

xoxo

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! Oh and I have a little surprise/present/extra note. If you guys can guess what that little surprise/present/extra note is then maybe it might happen. But if not then I guess I'll just have to keep it for a later date. Here's a hint: It has something to do with The Married Life and you guys ask me to do this often.**

**I don't know. I don't think that really helps. :) I'm really pumped to see Harry Potter though! I've never been a ginormous fan but it's part of life I feel like. I don't know when I'll see it and a bunch of people I know are thinking that it won't be very good. So, what do you guys think? Are you seeing it the day it comes out?  
**

**to Laura: Yeah, if you didn't like this one I could understand. But it's great that you do like it! Even if it's just a little :)  
**


	14. Chapter 14

"Oh gosh." Alex pushed her top half off of the bed. She gazed over to see Nate still dead asleep. Alex had aches all over her. Dang, what did they do last night. Alex looked down at herself and noticed the bruises all along her hips and inner thighs. She was just getting turned on by thinking of what they did last night. Last night was amazing. They had intended to have a nice evening at home with just Chinese take out and a movie. Each time the couple in the movie kissed, Nate nibbled on Alex's ear. It was pleasant. Nate really knew Alex's body and what pleasured her. But each time she would push him away. In this movie, the couple had a few sex scenes... Each time the couple in the movie had sex, Nate would progressively go down lower on her body and remove an item of clothing. By the third sex scene, well, it goes without saying what happened next. It also goes without saying what Alex felt afterward. She had just let Nate take her again. She was not holding up a strong fort. Alex all of a sudden felt ashamed. Where were they going with all of this? Did it mean that she forgave him? Alex quickly climbed out of bed and ran to the bathroom. She started a warm bath to relieve her body of the aches she acquired from the activities of last night.

Once Nate heard the rushing hot water hit the bottom of the tub, he was awake—still in a stupor but awake. He slowly made his way to the tub to see Alex in the tub with her eyes closed she looked ethereal. He took off his clothes quietly yet quickly. He climbed into the bath and stirred Alex from her thought process. She pulled her legs in closer to her and wrapped her arms around them. Nate was clearly turned on but he restrained himself and stayed on the other side. Nate was just content with looking at her. Her beauty shone through. He always thought she was prettiest without her makeup on but he noticed that he never saw her without her makeup on lately. Every time she woke up and left the bedroom before him, he would turn over and just stare at her pillow (well his, for some reason Alex had preferred to sleep on his side of the bed ever since he saw her sleeping in his favorite shirt). He could smell her scent emanating from her pillow. He could see her makeup smeared on the pillowcase. It was different. Now with her makeup on, he thought that she was still pretty but not as pretty when she wasn't wearing her makeup. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Nate staring at her intently. For a second, she felt exposed, nervous, and confused. Internally, she fought over whether or not to go over to him.

Eventually, she settled with going over to him. She slid in between his muscular legs. Nate was surprised but he tried not to show it. She spun around and laid her bare back against his bare chest. Nate slowly encased her in his arms as she laid her head back into the nook of his neck. She fit perfectly with her tiny body in his muscular one. Nate's senses totally went into overdrive as he held her close, breathing in her light perfume. She snuggled closer and she was perfectly fine just sitting there like that enjoying his embrace.

* * *

Nate drove Alex over to the other Gray house. Jason was currently residing in Europe, so they were heading over to Shane's house. Once they got there, the paparazzi had followed them and some had already gotten there before Nate and Alex. It was crazy. Today it seemed like the mayhem was worse than the other days. Alex subconsciously grabbed for Nate's hand as she looked out the window after Nate parked the car. Normally, the Grays always had a friendly relationship with the press. The paparazzi would kid around with them as they flashed their shutterbugs and the Grays would go along with it. So, as they hounded on Nate's SUV, Alex rolled down the window to speak to some.

"Hi, how are you today?" Alex smiled with a large, gregarious, yet fake smile. She cared for the paparazzi, sure. They'd been a part of her life for so long; she couldn't just cut them out or be rude to them. They had been a part of her success over the years anyways. She spoke directly to the TMZ reporter.

"Hi Alex, where's your ring?" Alex sat back for a second and seemed dazed as she thought about how she was going to answer. She glanced back at her finger and glanced back at the reporter.

"I-I.." She was an actress for goodness sake! "We had it taken to the jewelers to get it polished." Alex smiled pleased with her answer. But the TMZ reporter didn't buy it.

"No, really Alex. Do you really want to be lying to America? Where is your ring?" Alex shrugged. How was she going to lie to these probing reporters. That's when another cut in, "Alex, where's your locket!" Alex sub-consciously reached up to her collar bone, her fingers expecting to be grasping something were sadly disappointed when all they felt was air. Her hand fell back down and she shrugged.

Alex felt like she was going to burst out crying. Her mouth opened to release words but nothing was coming out. It was all bubbled in her throat. Nate must've noticed something different with Alex's change in attitude, he rolled up the opened window and turned off the car. The hounding paparazzi though were getting to be too much for Alex as she shifted around in the car still grasping tightly to Nate's hand. Alex leaned over and turned on the car, blasting the music in the process. It helped to drown out some of the noise but she could still see the people jumping around her car. Alex refused to let the paparazzi make her cry so she shut her eyes closed tight and sat still.

Eventually, the paparazzi were shooed away by the neighborhood security. Why they didn't come sooner, Shane didn't know. All he was told was that the security had other things to handle, paparazzi hounding Britney's house. Something along those lines. Once the paparazzi cleared out a bit and there weren't so many, Shane came out and helped Alex out of the car leaving Nate to fair for himself. Once out, the left over paparazzi snapped some photos of Shane walking Alex into the house and Nate following behind after locking up the car.

After sharing a lovely meal, the boys went inside to do the dishes as Mitchie and Alex had some wine. Alex picked invisible lint off of her skirt as she tried to avoid Mitchie, knowing that she was going to ask about Alex and Nate's current status.

"Alex," Mitchie stared Alex down, "I know you know that I'm going to talk to you about this." Alex shook her head and sighed. She knew. She knew it all too well. "So, speak. Tell me. If not, I'll ask questions repeatedly until I hear what I want."

"Okay! Okay fine." Alex set down her wine glass and pulled her skirt over her knees. "So, everything is just super awkward for me now. I don't know whether to love him or to hate him. To forgive him or to blame him. So it's not that it's awkward, I guess. It's more that I'm confused and my thoughts are conflicting. It's hard because I do still love him. Mitch, what do I do?"

Mitchie nodded, she didn't quite know what to say, "Just, give it some time. Sort things out before you make a hasty decision."

Alex wanted to defend herself, she wasn't the one to blame in this situation, "He's the one who wants the divorce, Mitch." They both sat in silence for a bit thinking over the situation, "But the weirdest thing is, he is the one who seems to be trying to keep us together. He's the one who's always wanting to go out to dinner or staying in and making us dinner. He's the one who always wants to do it at every hour of the day."

Mitchie nodded again, "Are you sure it's not because he's just a boy and he wants sex?"

Alex looked at Mitchie admonishingly, "You can't just say that about him, Mitchie. We've been together for so long... Besides that, he could have gone to another girl if he really wanted it that badly. That's what he's been doing."

Mitchie grimaced. She hadn't exactly found out the details of the whole ordeal just yet. Alex had really been shelling up after their sleepover. "Can you tell me more about what you know? I'll help you find out who the girl is."

It was Alex's turn to nod, "Okay. I don't know who it is but her voice is really familiar sounding. It's all raspy and deep... kinda." Alex's hands and eyes became overanimated as she vented about the situation-with the Four Seasons and such.

Mitchie's blood ran cold. Wires were connecting. The story was seemingly familiar except from another's point of view, "Babe! I think I know who it is... But Alex, I'd hate to tell you who it is... She's one of my best friends..."

Alex sat still, Mitchie didn't have to say anymore. She already knew who Mitchie was protecting. All of a sudden, her best friend seemed like a stranger to her and her husband was a backstabbing cheater. She didn't just lose her husband to that girl but also her best friend. What did she do to deserve this? Alex stood up slowly smoothing down her skirt and took quiet steps to the kitchen looking for her ride home. Mitchie stood up to follow her and explain but Alex stuck her hand out signaling for Mitchie to stop because she didn't exactly want to hear it at that moment. Alex stopped her click clacking as she came closer to the kitchen and heard the hushed whispers of her husband and his brother.

"Nate, how stupid can you be?" Shane was upset. "You cheated on Alex! Is that why she's been so distant and tense lately? Is that why Mitchie didn't want you over?" Alex imagined Shane pointing a fork in Nate's direction.

"No, shh, Shane! Someone's going to hear you." Nate dropped something into the soapy water.

"What? Didn't you tell me that she already knows? Mitchie knows. But I didn't know! It must be torture for you, huh? To keep such a big secret?" Shane was being extremely sarcastic.

"Shane, you don't understand-" Nate tried but Shane cut in.

"What don't I understand, Nate? You cheated on your wife! With your ex-girlfriend! You basically promised that you didn't love her anymore. You both should be ashamed. You've hurt Alex in the past and you promised it would never happen again. She trusted you! What the hell is wrong with you?" Alex sent her love telepathically hoping that Shane would get it somehow. Shane still loved Alex. Alex knew it.

"It was a mistake, Shane! I do love Alex. It just took me some time with Alexis to figure it out." Alex melted but not in the good way. "I thought I loved Alexis. She was my first love, Shane! How am I supposed to forget how she made me feel?" Alex felt like passing out.

"Yeah? How are you supposed to forget the way Alex made you feel? How are you supposed to live with what you did to Alex?" Alex grasped the area above her heart. "I've been reading the gossip sites and tabloids, Nate. I found out more from that than I did from you. I don't believe it all but some of those things add up to be true, Nate."

"You can't believe everything in those magazines and I'm hurt that you'd believe those lies about your own brother." Nate scoffed but it was a lame way to blow off the accusations.

"You took her ring?" Shane caught him there. No reply from Nate. "You took her heart locket?" Shane got him again. "She frickin' loves that locket Nate! She wears it every day. By the way, she's not a huge fan of ginormous gems either but she still wore it with love and happiness." Nate felt like he was slapped in the face. He thought Alex would've loved that ring simply because of the ginormous diamond on it.

"Well, I... I..." Nate tried to think, "I thought she loved that ring."

"Yeah, she does. Not for the diamond on it though. She loves it because you gave it to her. Where did you even think that she liked a huge diamond like that?"

Nate thought back, "Alexis..."

Alex's eyes grew wide and she was appalled that Nate trusted Alexis, of all people, to pick out her wedding ring. Alex was done. She was done. All this mention of Alexis... Alexis this. Alexis that. She was done. Just plain done. Alex quietly walked out to the car grabbing her things. Unfortunately, she had no key or ride to get home. All she had was her credit card, her make up, and her cell phone. Mitchie ran out after her also overhearing as much as Alex did of the boys' conversation.

"I don't want to talk about it, Mitchie. I know that's why you came out here." Paparazzi started running up to Shane's front lawn once they saw Alex emerge.

"Alex, just come inside please." Alex shook her head and turned around to the residential street to watch the paparazzi run toward her. She walked toward them with confidence though inside she wasn't so much confident.

* * *

"Alex, honestly, don't be so dramatic," Alex had accidentally picked up the phone as she sat in the west wing of her home that she shared with Nate... still. Had she had known that it'd be Mitchie, her best friend, she wouldn't have picked up. "He was young and naive. He didn't know any better than to ask the girl he thought he was closest to to go ring shopping for the girl he loved."

All this time, Mitchie had been defending Nate. She was supposed to be on her side. The only person who really sided with her was Shane, for a bit. She hadn't spoken to him or seen him since that one day they all met for lunch. Once she got home that day, by cab, she made sure that she brought down her things to her new wing that she declared her's. She was definitely considering moving out. How could she not? She was humiliated by the people that she thought could never make her feel any less than normal. When they were young, Nate and Alex had had some problems but they had sorted it out, or at least so Alex thought, and she thought that it would never happen again. To her misfortune, it did happen several times after they were married but they worked through it. But now, now it was different. They were older, wiser. They had been through this situation before and it never had gotten as bad as Nate considering renting out a suite at the Four Seasons. Every day, Nate never ceased to try to converse with Alex. He tried to worm his way down to her. If he was close, she didn't feel safe. She felt heartbroken. Nate just wanted to have a "perfect life." He didn't want a divorce to mar his reputation.

"No, Mitchie... That's not how it went. You can also stop calling me now." Alex let the phone fall on the receiver. Her best girl friend... gone. She didn't have her anymore. It wasn't a slow drifting apart. It was a tearing at the seam, a quick pull to rip her heart to shreds. It was a painful feeling that she didn't even know how to scientifically explain. Throughout their entire marriage, Alex had been faithful, never had she strayed. Nate on the other hand... He didn't stray to different girls. He only ran back to one. Knowing that, her heart hurt even more. Should she be less hurt that only one girl tempted him rather than random girls who flew by? Or should she be more hurt that that same girl tempted him time and time again?

* * *

After the events of last night and the night before, Alex was drained. She had moved everything down to the west wing by herself before Nate had come home. It sounds like a tremendous feat but actually it wasn't. Nate hadn't come home until late. Everything was completely draining Alex-work, the sex, moving her belongings down to the west wing, her mind bouncing back and forth between thoughts, her emotions, and worst of all she just started her period. Luckily, it was light.

Alex quickly gathered her purse and cardigan as she ran out of her room to meet Jacob outside of her front door. Her clanking feet against the hardwood floor must've tipped Nate off. He came rushing to the front door, slamming his back on the door facing Alex. Alex was completely surprised and ran right into Nate. She fell back onto her bottom with a thump. She looked up at Nate and her surprised facial expression quickly changed to a scowl.

"Nate," she picked herself up off the floor, "What the hell?" She composed herself and tried to get to the door. Nate blocked her with his muscular body.

"Where are you going?" Nate didn't ask in a menacing, I'm-about-to-rape-you tone. His tone was more vulnerable and tired. His body untensed against Alex's and the scent of his body wash evaded Alex's senses.

"Out." Alex tried to push Nate's body aside but he wouldn't budge. "There are other doors to the house." Alex backed up, seemingly threatening Nate that she would run to one of those said doors. Nate stood unwavering, surprising Alex who thought he would try to stop her. He let out a long sigh and his shoulders fell as he didn't even attempt to move or let out a sign of disagreement. Alex couldn't help it. She wanted to just run up and hug him, have his arms wrapped tightly around her, feel him inside of her. But she also wanted to stand her ground. If she advanced towards him, they would just go through a cycle they seemed to be running in lately. He does something wrong, Alex gets mad, he shows remorse, she runs back into his arms and then the cycle restarts all over again except each time it restarts, Alex finds out more that just hurts her more.

xoxo

**I intended to have a surprise for you lovely readers and reviewers this past week but I got so busy I just didn't have enough time to finish my surprise. It was going to be a start of a new story; but, anyways, I think I'll just hold off on that for now. I was also going to update in the middle of the week but I didn't get a chance to actually sit down and go through the process. So to make up for the lack of a surprise, I posted an extra long chapter. I hope you like it.**


	15. Chapter 15

Alex did eventually make her way out of the house and find Jacob patiently sitting on the hood of his car. He looked stunning as always. Both were dressed casually. A walk in the park didn't need ball gowns and evening wear.

The crisp air blew against Alex's face as she walked beside Jacob with familiarity. It had remained in a comfortable silence as the two walked through Central Park together. They didn't mind being in public. It wasn't as if they were doing anything wrong. They were just two friends reminiscing and catching up. They had nothing to hide. But Alex, was starting something new. She didn't want to be stuck in the same place with her heart broken and being stomped on over and over again. Walking beside Jacob with such simplicity reminded her of a time when her love for somebody was pure and unadulterated. The child-like love for somebody when she was head-over-heels for them was something that she would miss. Going down the path she did with Nate made her mature into a stage that was really, way too old for her actual age. With the new discoveries in her marriage, she seemed to be shrinking in maturity. Her heart wasn't ready to settle down anymore. "Jacob?" Alex slowed her pace with Jacob beside her keeping in her stride.

"Yeah, Allie?" It was that name people called her when they felt affection for her. It didn't necessarily mean that he was in love but it meant he cared for her and that was all that mattered to Alex at times.

Alex stopped completely turned to have his body square with her's and she just stared and smiled. Simple but insane. Jacob chuckled at her, "What are you doing, crazy lady?" Alex just shrugged but continued to smile. This was her true friend. After all of those years of harsh rumors that spread about them, he still stood beside her.

Alex's smile fell but her eyes still wide. It occurred to her that Jacob would be the one she would count on when she left Nate. As hard as it was for her to leave Nate, she had to. She had to do it for both of their sakes. In a hushed tone, Alex began, "Jacob..." Jacob knew something was wrong when her smile dissipated. He stared intently into her eyes and waited for her to continue. "Nate has been cheating on me." In her mind, she had been fighting for the words to say. She had been fighting to find those right words to make it seem like it wasn't just some ordinary thing but that's all she could think of. It was all that came out of her mouth to keep her from breaking apart. "I think I'm going to divorce him." Something about the way she said it in her mind, made her think that she meant it. But something about the way she said it out loud for Jacob and her to hear, made them both affirm that she didn't know if she meant it.

Jacob didn't want to make a scene especially as he spotted the photogs behind the bushes. "Hey, why don't we grab something to eat and we can talk more about this." His hand naturally went to the small of her back as they walked back to his parked car. Big mistake.

* * *

Alex and Jacob ended up in some local Chinese diner in Chinatown. Though Chinatown is hectic and crowded, it didn't stop the paparazzi from following and stealthily standing outside in the crowd snapping their cameras every time they got the chance for a good picture. Alex sat across Jacob in a dimly lit booth. The place was crowded with New York hipsters and bustling waiters. This wasn't the best time to have an intimate conversation but hey, bringing it home would make it all the more scandalous.

They sat there together for a few hours and the thought never occurred to them that their night out together was all too long. The paparazzi were relentless and still hid outside the dim Chinese diner.

"I don't get it, Allie." Jacob sat there in disbelief after Alex had told the story of her finding out that Nate had been cheating on her. She told him everything up until the moment that she sat before him-the sex with Nate, the 'Booty Call' caller ID, everything. She didn't refrain from telling Jacob stuff just because they had a bond that allowed each other to tell each other anything even when they hadn't been talking to each other in a while. "Nate is completely being stupid for doing all that stuff." Jacob shook his head with his anger flaring. "So, what now?" Jacob realized that what he said seemed harsh but it was something he wanted to know. How would Alex handle this? It was her life that Nate screwed up along with his. Alex simply shrugged.

"I don't know." Alex took a sip of her coke. "Well, Jacob..." Jacob's ears perked up. They had been speaking so quietly that both of their ears had been doing it constantly. "I think I'm going to divorce him."

Jacob stared at her incredulously, "If you're going to do it, then say it like you mean it?"

Alex shrugged, "If I say it and do it, it seems so permanent. It seems to mar my life and everything that I've ever wanted."

Jacob shook his head and leaned in, "It doesn't have to Allie. I'll help you through everything. I'll help you." He seemed so desperate. She could tell. This isn't what he would've wished for Alex ever. They might have broke each others heart in the past but they loved each other regardless. Alex pushed her cup away from her. She didn't have the urge to cry anymore. She realized the only way that she could go through with severing this entire catastrophe was just to do it quickly and impulsively.

"Tomorrow." Alex whispered so quietly that Jacob almost didn't hear her over the clanking of dishes and the shuffling of the other customers. He agreed quietly, "Tomorrow." After Jacob paid for the bill, he led Alex back out to his car where they were hounded by paparazzi.

The chill of the air hit Alex hard as she felt for the scarf around her neck and pulled it tighter and closer. She held her purse close and reached around for Jacob as her breathing quickened and her eyes started to water. She knew what was coming next as the paparazzi closed the proximity between their cameras and her face. Jacob also knew her well enough to know what was going to happen. The magnitude of her decision that she made inside of the restaurant was weighing on her as well as the stress of everything occurring presently and just all of the confusion with Nate. Alex tried to slow her breathing by taking deep breaths as she moved forward, her grip on Jacob's leather jacket sleeve tightening. Jacob considered the options; continue onto the car and hope that Alex could make it there or just stop now so she could recuperate before she had to be sent to the hospital again. She put way too much stress on herself.

Jacob wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in for an embrace holding her tightly soothingly rubbing her back. She buried her head into his strong chest as she gripped his gray t-shirts in balls in her fists. The paparazzi had a hay day with that photo. Though it did cause chaos, it was all Alex needed to regain her strength to move forward. She was exhausted. "All right, guys." Alex could feel the vibration of Jacob's voice as she leaned on him. "I think that's enough for tonight. We'll see you guys later, yeah?" Jacob began to walk and Alex fell behind never letting go of his coat sleeve and eventually his strong hand.

Jacob pushed through the crowd and opened the door to the passenger's side like a gentleman would. It took them awhile but eventually, Jacob was successful in directing them out of the mess and onto the empty roads on the way to the quiet streets of Alex's neighborhood.

They arrived at the Gray residence and Alex refused Jacob's act of opening the door for her. She wouldn't have his chivalry at that moment, though she did appreciate that chivalry wasn't dead. She kissed his cheek goodnight and went quietly through the door. She heard Jacob's car roar away. It was pretty late already so Alex didn't expect to hear Nate up and around the house. She intended to completely ignore him but it surprised her of the conversation he was holding.

"No! I don't care if they seem to knock down the gate every time you put another up. Find another gate." Alex could tell he was angry. "No, I won't have it... Find better security then." Alex was shocked. Why was Nate talking about security? "I've already called in about this. It's a hazard to Allie's health." Alex froze... What? "Yeah. Yeah, I know you try hard but how many times do we have to have this conversation? I paid to have a better gate put in." Alex heard silence for a bit. "Okay, okay yeah Sylvester." Sylvester was the head of security of their neighborhood. He was the one who manned the gate when the neighborhood first started. "I just need to know that when Allie comes home, she'll be safe." Alex couldn't believe her ears. So Nate did care. This definitely compromised her decision that she made earlier in the night.

* * *

"Listen, Nate." Alex pulled out the chair at the breakfast table. She surprised Nate by taking a seat in front of him. Nate had been chasing her since that day that they had lunch with Shane and Mitchie but now she was right here in front of him, wanting to talk to him. He set down his newspaper and his eyes opened wide with curiosity. "I've been thinking, lately." She looked down at the table and began to fiddle with the place mat. "I know you asked for a divorce... several times." Alex swallowed to moisten her mouth. Nate wanted Alex to continue but it seemed like her words were stuck in her throat. She tapped the table with her fingertips. But she pushed to continue, "...and I'm happy to oblige." It was just like that. Nate's world fell apart. His heart fell and it broke and ripped into tiny little pieces.

Alex didn't know. All she knew was that, that's what Nate wanted. She didn't know how her decision affected Nate that way. "So, Nate. I already called our lawyer and he's bringing over the papers today."

Nate sat in contemplation and her words finally sunk in. But one thing confused him, "He's bringing them today?" Alex nodded her head like nothing was out of the ordinary. "When I asked for papers he said he would try his best to get them prepared for me to pick up in a month, the earliest... And for you, he's bringing it over to our house, the day you asked for them?" Alex shrugged then nodded. Alex got up to go get dressed and what not when Nate finally felt the exact magnitude of her blow, "Hey, Alex." Alex stopped in her tracks to turn around, "What made you decide now? After all of those times that I've cheated and asked for a divorce... What's different this time that makes you want a divorce?"

Alex's heart fell. This was one of the hardest things she would have to endure. Anything that Nate did to hurt her was hard. He was the one person who could bring her to highs that were unnatural but he was the only person who could bring her to lows that she had never reached before. "This time... this time I know better." Alex refrained for a second to keep her voice from trembling. "This time, it hurts too much to be me." Alex slowly turned around unsure of herself and continued to the West wing.

* * *

By noon, the Gray lawyer stopped by and stayed for lunch. Alex had invited him to stay much to Nate's dismay.

"Mr. Chapman!" Alex opened the door with a surprised expression. She was a pleasant girl, she wasn't about to be rude to him. "Come on in. I was just about to start lunch." Mr. Chapman smiled, tipped his hat, and followed Alex in.

Mr. Chapman was a tall fellow and his name made it perfectly clear that he was of English origin. "Thank you, Alex. But please, do call me Preston." Alex smiled shyly. "Mr. Chapman makes me sound so old." It was true, though, Mr. Chapman was only a few months older than Alex.

"Well, then Preston. I guess you'll have it your way." Alex said it in a teasing tone with a bright smile. Just as Alex led Preston into the kitchen, Nate stalked in.

"Ah, Preston, how are ya, man?" Nate stepped out with his hand extended. Both men shook the others with friendliness.

"Good, thanks, Nate." He nodded and set his black leather briefcase onto the floor.

Alex stared up at Nate, "Nate, why don't you grab Preston's briefcase and set it in the coat closet." She smiled expectantly at Nate.

Preston shook his head, "Thanks, Alex but if you show me the way, I can put it there myself."

It was Alex's turn to shake her head, "Don't be silly, Preston. You are a guest in our house. It's the least we can do." She lightly tapped Preston's toned bicep. He was wearing an attractive color that accentuated his deep blue eyes. He was also wearing one of Alex's favorite shirt styles on a man-the oxford. "Nate?" She grinned back at Nate. Nate froze-her smile was gorgeous, he thought internally.

After a few seconds of silence and Nate staring intently at Alex, Preston cleared his throat. "Actually, you know what Alex... I have the papers in the briefcase so after lunch it would be easy access to just leave it out or something." Alex nodded and went back to chopping onions and bell peppers. About half an hour later, the house was filled with an amazing aroma. "Alex," Preston called out, "Is there anything that I can help you with?"

She giggled and replied playfully, "Yes, after I have finished everything then you decide to ask." She turned back toward Preston to see his expression. He shrugged with a dazzling smile. Alex was taken aback. She knew when a man looked phenomenal and she never stopped to just soak in that masculinity. Back then, she thought she'd always have Nate. He was beautiful in his own right but now she was losing him. There was nothing she could do but her heart sank every time her mind wondered to the thought. "So, I've plated everything. I guess what you could help me with is bringing the plates over to the table?" She smiled again in a shy way expecting that she might have asked too much of him.

"Ah yes, sure." Preston quickly came to Alex's side and set the three plates on his one arm and grabbed the forks with his other hand. Alex was amazed. it surprised her the most that he hadn't dropped any of it. She watched as he set everything down with grace.

"Oh, my. Where'd you learn that Preston?" He was still fixing the little flowers on the table centerpiece-they were real, so it wasn't stupid or silly that he would fiddle with them.

Preston smiled like he knew a huge secret Alex didn't. "I went to a school of Culinary Arts before I decided to become a lawyer." Alex mouthed 'oh' and walked over to the table. She examined how he displayed the table. It was the same things that she put down on the table but somehow he had made them look all the much better.

"That's amazing, Preston." She placed her hand on his bicep beside her. "Your girlfriend must leave all of the cooking up to you, huh?" Preston shook his head and chuckled.

"I don't have a girlfriend, Alex."

Alex blushed, "Is that so?" She faced him but quickly let go of his bicep and shifted her gaze when she heard Nate's footsteps on the floor coming through the open archway. He'd seen the position they were just in. Wait, why did Alex even care?

Once Nate saw Alex's petite stature right beside Preston's toned, tall stature, Nate made sure to make some noise as he came closer. They may be divorcing but Alex was still his wife and he wasn't about to let her go so easily. "Alex, Preston. Let's take a seat."

Alex's eyes were soft and glazed over when they met Nate's. He couldn't decipher which emotion was running through her. They casually took seats but awkwardly began to eat. For people who made their living off of congenial conversation, they sure weren't putting their skills to use.

After about an hour of awkward eating and clinks of silverware against glass plates, Alex couldn't take it anymore. "So, Preston, thanks for coming today. I really appreciate you coming on such short notice."

Preston nodded and smiled, "It's no problem, Alex. I'm glad that I could be of service." Alex giggled and Nate was growing uncomfortable. If it wasn't apparent enough, Preston totally wanted to get with Alex after all of this.

"Preston..." Preston and Alex were gazing into each others eyes. Nate couldn't even tell if Alex even liked Preston but it was apparent through his actions that he liked Alex. "Preston," Nate tried again with more urgency.

Preston became unabsorbed from Alex's stare, "Yeah," he nodded to Nate's direction, "what's up, Nate?"

Nate quickly thought on his feet, raking his mind for conversation, "Some of my colleagues told me that there's a catch to us signing the papers?" Nate smacked his lips pursing them together as if trying to savor the flavors.

Preston nodded almost as if he understood completely with the bare minimum of his question. "Yes there is a 'catch' if you mean I suggest people take counseling before divorcing." Nate sighed with a huff. "I'm not a supporter of divorces." Nate thought about it. How hypocritical? He's a lawyer that does include marital issues like divorce in his practice but he didn't 'support divorces.' Preston felt the need to add, "I understand the contradictory factor of what I believe and in what I do. It also cuts me out of some money at times but to me, a marriage is something sacred. I just want to make sure that those people in the union aren't making rash decisions."

Alex blushed as she stared at Preston while he was giving his speech. Her gaze turned over to Nate. She did not want to counsel anything with that boy. She just wanted him to go far away. "Preston," Alex cleared her throat, "I'm planning on moving out to California." Her eyes never left Nate's, "I was wondering if there's any way that we could just surpass that step in your system and get the divorce rolling."

Preston questioned like a friend, "California, huh? What's out there?" Alex shifted uncomfortably. She wanted to say so badly that Nate wouldn't be out there but she considered that response to be a bit juvenile so she refrained. She considered another answer but truth be told, her 'decision' to go out to California was made just that second she spoke.

"Um, California's where my next projects are going to be." Nate's face cringed because the news was a surprise to him.

"I thought you just started that new sitcom here in New York." Alex nodded signaling that she did, urging him to continue. "I mean, you've just started..." Nate had nothing else to say. He hadn't paid that much attention to Alex when she was on set because he was always on the other lot.

Alex shrugged, "So what's your answer, Preston?" Preston shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Alex, but that's not going to do. Though you're lovely, and I'd like to accompany you to dinner some night soon, I can't just not _suggest_ you go to counseling to fix your marriage." Preston sped over his compliment to her but emphasized his point. "You're just going to have to fly back, I guess. You have to complete the therapy sessions before I file your papers."

Nate abruptly stood up after minutes of listening to Preston but staring at Alex, "Well, Preston. I thank you for coming but I think you've overstayed your welcome..."

Before Nate could finish, Alex nudged him to sit down, "Nate, be quiet. Preston is always welcome in our home." Alex said fiercely to the side trying to hide her tone from Preston. Nate was not showing any sign of relenting. He began to walk to the other side of the table, "Alright! Alright. Nate sit down! Listen, sorry Preston. Me and Nate have a lot to work out, I guess." Preston and Alex got to their feet, "I'll call you later for the details of the therapist to go to. I'll set up an appointment with them first thing Monday morning." Alex walked Preston out to his car and Nate hovered close behind. Alex may have not dwelled on what Preston had said about her but Nate most certainly was. Alex was still his wife and Preston was way out of line to hit on her in front of her husband.

* * *

"What the hell is wrong with you, Nate?" Alex pushed the front door shut behind her as Nate continued to keep close to her. "Why were you being so rude?" Alex blew some hair out of her face as she walked back to the kitchen to clean up.

"Nothing's wrong with me. Preston was just out of line, that's all." Nate was so close Alex felt like he was breathing down her neck.

"What was he out of line about, Nate?" She stopped and pushed him back a foot before she continued on her trek to the kitchen.

"Don't be bothered by what it was that he said." A cocky smile grew on Nate's face, "Big Poppa's here to protect you." Alex paused and began to laugh. Nate just made the stupidest comment she had heard in awhile. Nate smiled in satisfaction, "Looks like I still know how to make you genuinely laugh."

Alex composed herself then smirked, "Please, when you actually make a decent joke, I'll tell you." Alex shook her head in pleasure with a smile on her face. Nate's expression seemed like she had just punched him in the gut. "By the way, Big Poppa," Alex couldn't help but burst with a giggle, "your fly's unzipped." Alex giggled again. She stepped up and zipped it up for him. She smiled, patted his cheek and walked away with him watching her.

xoxo

**Oh yes! It's another long one and it's early too :) Thanks for reading! Please review :D**

**P.S. to the reviewers without an account: I will have review replies on my account page! So check them out there :)  
**


	16. Chapter 16

"Okay, Nate!" Alex called up the spiraling staircase for Nate to respond. She stood waiting with a post-it in her hand. She leaned on the wall and slid down onto a step to sit. As she waited for Nate, she read and re-read the little bright neon yellow post-it over and over again.

"Yeah, what is it Alex?" Nate called down from their room. He came out wearing a towel around his waist with his curls soaked down onto his head and beads of water still running fresh down his body. It took Alex a second to recover from the view.

She took a deep breath and began to announce what was on the post-it, "I called Preston." Nate gave an expression implying that he didn't know which Preston. "Chapman, Nate. Our lawyer?" Nate nodded his head. "Okay, so I called him." Alex paused again.

"Allie! Get on with it already!" Alex was taken aback by Nate's tone. Her facial expression let him know it. "Okay, okay... I'm sorry. Please, can you just... can you just tell me what he said?"

Alex stopped and played with the tip of the post-it note before continuing, "Well, he's already hired the therapist for us... He said that our appointment is this afternoon." Alex pushed herself up off of the stair, "So hurry up, we need to be there in an hour and the therapist's office is in the city."

Nate hurried down the stairs to catch up to Alex as she walked to the West Wing, "Hey, wait!" Alex spun around waiting for Nate to say what he needed to say. "When's the payment due?" Alex shrugged.

"Preston said he took care of it." Nate stood there staring at Alex in disbelief. Nate couldn't believe what he just heard. Nate has talked to some of his colleagues about Preston Chapman. The sessions always cost so much. It was almost double his fee. He couldn't believe that Preston Chapman had just waived their fee. He was totally encroaching on Nate's territory.

"Allie. I need you to ask him how much it costs." Alex shrugged.

"Why, Nate? He said that he took care of it. We don't have to worry about paying anything."

"No, Allie, you don't get it. Everybody that I've talked to about him have said that those sessions cost double his price." Alex's expression begged him to continue. "Allie, he's hitting on you." Nate said it point blank with no sugar coating.

"Nate! Why can't you just be nice and be appreciative about how Preston's doing a gentleman-like thing for us?" Alex spoke exasperatedly.

Nate wrapped his hands around Alex's upper arms, "Allie, please. Just believe me. I'm telling you that something about Preston is off. I don't know what it is yet, Allie, but I love you too much just to let you fall into his scheme." Alex shook her head in amusement.

"Are you practicing your lines for a new project, Nate? You're doing a very good job." Alex pushed Nate's hands off and began to walk away in her jammies.

* * *

About ten minutes later, Nate came down to look for Alex in the West Wing. He found her staying in the room he had been staying in. Alex stumbled out of her bathroom trying to put on her left black patent pump. To Nate, she was stunning.

"Nate!" Alex grabbed randomly for something and threw it at Nate. "What are you doing in here? I'm changing and you're not supposed to come into this wing of the house! We agreed!" Alex pulled down her flouncy skirt so that the waist landed at the smallest part of her waist and she straightened out her top. "Seriously, Nate. You're bordering perv status."

Nate sneered, "Very funny, Alex. Ha-ha. I just came down here to find you. Are you ready? We should get going." Nate grabbed for the article of clothing that hit him when Alex threw it in his direction. He smirked when he saw that it was a red lacy bra. Alex quickly pulled it back, threw it in her closet and gave Nate a disapproving look.

"Let's go." Alex strutted out to the car with Nate following closely behind like a lap dog. Once they got out there, their gate was being pushed forward by a bunch of paparazzi. Alex stopped and backed up. She was surprised and a bit scared of the aggressiveness.

Nate caught her as she was backing up, "Allie," he whispered into her ear softly, "it's okay. I'm here." He wrapped his arm around her waist and led her to the car. They both fell in step as he opened the door for her to get into his SUV. He rushed to the other side to the driver seat. Once getting in, he pressed number six on the dial pad of his phone and called. "Yeah, uh hey Sylvester. We have a problem down by our house." Nate ended the call and started up the car.

"Nate... I love you but you can't string me along or lead me on anymore." Alex fiddled with the hem of her shirt as she awkwardly sat beside Nate.

"What are you talking about Alex? I love you too. There isn't a need for me to string you along. You're my wife." Alex shook her head.

"I'm not going to be your wife anymore, Nate. Maybe it's best if we just start seeing other people now. I mean... Maybe it's time for me to start seeing other people now." Alex shrugged.

"Allie... You can't be serious. I mean, I'm trying to make it work here." Alex shook her head for the second time in that car in that little time frame.

Alex just wanted to get her point across. "Look, Nate... I already know who you've been cheating with. It's Alexis Texas. Right?" Nate remained motionless. "Well, I know I'm right. We've had trouble like this before with the same girl." Alex paused as she cleared her mind a bit. "I realize that she was your first true love. It was puppy love. You told me that yourself. So, it was perfect and it wasn't difficult to be in that relationship until the very end when you two couldn't handle each other anymore. I can't even remember how many times we've had little tiffs over Alexis. I can't even remember how many times I've heard from paparazzi that you'd been cheating on me. Each time it hurts Nate... I don't think anybody ever becomes numb to hearing that the one they love is cheating on them with the one that they love. But I put a smile on and pushed through it. This time... I'm going to do the same but I'm going to take a different ending this time. I'm going to leave you. Go be her everything for awhile because you love her, Nate. She seems to be the one that you want."

Nate closed his mouth from when it dropped open earlier. Alex had a lot to say. "How long have you been thinking all of that?"

Quietly, Alex spoke her mind. "Awhile now Nate. But, even though I'm leaving you so you can have her, I just want to let you know what I think about some of it, I guess." She looked over at Nate just to see him urge her to continue, "I'm scared that you're making a mistake by loving her the way you do. Both of you only get together to have a good time but we've endured the good and the bad. It's different between me and you and you and her. Nevertheless, I still love you. Another thing before we take off, protect your heart okay, Nate? I had to learn the hard way."

Once they arrived, Alex looked up at the building. It had a charming little New England townhouse-esque feeling. The paparazzi, thankfully, had not been able to follow them this far due to the police not allowing the paparazzi into this end of the neighborhood. Nate's hand naturally went to the small of Alex's back and led her up the stairs to the door. As they entered, they were hit with the heat causing them both to loosen their scarves.

"Nate, this is the place right?" Alex didn't expect the therapist to be in a building like this. She imagined a building with cold furniture and odd contraptions that people called abstract art. Alex scanned around the lobby with the furniture reminding her of someone's grandmother's house. She pulled the fingers of her gloves and her gloves slid off quickly. Alex, out of habit, held out her hand to grab Nate's gloves to put into her purse along with her's.

Nate closed Alex's outstretched hand and put his gloves in his coat pockets. Alex frowned but quickly fixed her facial expression to indifference. "Yeah, I'm sure Alex." Nate was sure to look for a sign that labeled the doctor's name. Once he spotted it, he said, "Yep, I'm sure." Alex nodded her head almost at the exact time that a frail but young woman stepped out from behind a closed door.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Gray?" The petite girl held out her hand for both of them to shake her hand. Both of them did, feeling her bony hand. Her manicured fingernails scratched along her navy skirt as she reached for her pager. "Pardon me," she said with a kind smile accentuating the hollowness of her cheeks. After fiddling with the tiny black device, she lifted up her thin arm, "Please, come on in. Preston has spoken much about you two."

Alex walked into the room first and sat down on the long floral-patterned couch. Nate came in next taking a seat on the same couch but further down. Last came in the therapist. "As you both know, I'm sure, I'm Dr. Jones but I prefer that you both just call me Laura. Preston has spoken much about how one of your friends have spoken about my sessions? Which one?" Laura flipped her dull blonde hair, almost as if she was trying to flirt with Nate.

Alex caught Laura's batting eyelashes. Alex cleared her throat before saying, "Dr. Jones, would you say that your sessions are typically successful?" Alex fiddled with the lapel of her peacoat jacket. Nate didn't get the hint of Laura's courting him but it was suddenly very obvious to Alex and Alex felt like defending her territory. Though she knew the territory didn't belong to her anymore, she still felt it necessary.

Laura snapped her gaze toward Alex with a stern look of her dull blue eyes, "Yes." With that Alex could tell that she must've insulted Laura with the question but at the rate that Laura was going, Alex could only imagine that the only goal Laura had in mind was completely opposite of the actual reason people intended to go into couples' therapy. Laura threw her eyes back to Nate's brown friendly eyes. "So, who Nate?"

Nate cleared his throat, "I've been told by a friend of mine." Alex thought it was weird how Nate just said a friend and didn't say a name. Alex was involved with Nate's life so she would know who he was talking about. Alex nudged Nate a little urging him to go on. Nate stuttered and stumbled over his words as he hesitated to speak, "Um... A-Ale-Alex-is Texas." Alex tried not to show any emotions on the news about Alexis Texas being the one who told him that Dr. Laura Jones was a good doctor. It made sense though. Alex connected the dots. She knew well enough why Alexis Texas may have praised Dr. Laura Jones as an amazing couples' therapist. Nate's eyes quickly searched Alex's for some sort of reaction. He knew she already knew it was Alexis who he was having an affair with. But, he didn't see anything. He just saw a hard wall that didn't even allow her beautiful eyes to shine through. He sighed and looked back at Laura.

* * *

"Alex, please talk to me." Nate was practically begging on his knees as they walked out to the car. Alex had gotten out quickly but slowly enough so that it didn't look like she was trying to jet out of that place. She sped up once she felt Nate's presence right behind her. "Allie, please!" Alex got into the car parked on the side of the street in front of the therapist's building. Nate climbed in on the other side. "Allie... please."

Alex pulled out her gloves from her purse and shoved them on. She hadn't spoken after Nate revealed that it was Alexis Texas who recommended Dr. Laura Jones. It was almost as if the one and a half hour session was just a session between Laura and Nate while Alex was just a portrait of a pretty girl. During the session, Nate didn't say much to be open about anything but Laura tried to pry. It was her job anyways right? Laura seemed to not care much about Alex because as time went on, she didn't wait long for Alex's response. "Allie. I can't stand you giving me the silent treatment, so please mature a little and speak to me."

His comment just upped her level of anger, "Be mature?" Alex scoffed. "Whatever, I'm not giving you the silent treatment. If I was, then you would know it." Nate shrugged in confusion. "Please, just start the car and go. We can talk all you want on the way home." Nate did as asked. When they got on the highway, Alex asked, "Okay... I said I'd talk to you. So what is it that you want me to say?"

Nate tapped on the steering wheel as he formulated what he wanted to say, "What do you think about Dr. Laura Jones?"

Alex blatantly said, "I understand why Alexis said that she was a good therapist... She really gets the job done." Alex shifted in her seat before trying to make her point more obvious. "Alexis wants you. So, she recommended Laura, who I'm sure is successful in breaking up couples more than actually getting them to reconcile. I mean she was more intrigued with you as a potential boyfriend than she was concerned about fixing our relationship." Alex crossed her arms across her chest.

Nate was quick to defend Alexis, "Now, you can't just say that about Alexis. She cares about me enough that she wouldn't intentionally sabotage us." Alex was so confused. He just made it seem like he was trying to save their relationship when it seemed like only Alex was.

Alex shook her head, "Does that even make sense in your head, Nate?" Alex was aware of her rudeness. "If she cares about you and is wanting that our sessions are beneficial to our relationship in that we end up staying together than she doesn't get what she wants. She wants you to be with her. You want to be with her. You love her." For the next five minutes, the quiet took over the car. "Nate, if Alexis cares about you so much... and obviously you love her, why did you even ask me to marry you?" Nate didn't answer-perhaps pondering over what to say. "Why'd you even want to put me through all of this?" Inside Alex was breaking again. She knew that her heart would feel like this for a long time but she wasn't naive enough to think that the feeling would never end. Alex's gaze remained out her window for the rest of the ride.

Once they got home, the paparazzi had been waiting outside of their house. Nate was quick to get to the front door but he watched as Alex walked over to the paparazzi. This confused Nate a bit. Normally, she would wave courteously and walk inside but today she went straight to the chaos. Alex bent down and her hands seemed to be holding onto a something. Nate took a step to the side to see Alex completely. She was talking to a little girl and was genuinely smiling. Nate unconsciously smiled as he watched Alex give the girl a hug. Alex pulled back and it was hard to miss the smile planted on the five-year-old's face. Alex had probably just made that little girl's day, maybe week even. As their conversation continued. The paparazzi weren't screaming at Alex like they usually would but they did get increasingly crazy trying to capture every single exchange between the two. Nate was becoming a bit concerned for both Alex's and the little girl's safety. Nate came closer and watched as Alex looked around and began to search her pockets for something. When he was in earshot he heard the little girl apologize and say that it was O.K. and that she didn't actual need an autograph. Alex kindly refused and insisted that she just had to sign something for the little girl. Alex finally found something in her pocket. The object couldn't be signed but Alex gave it to the little girl anyway. Nate squinted his eyes to figure out what it was. Once he figured it out, he was surprised to discover that it was a plastic ring that he and Alex had found out of the Cracker Jack box together. The ring may have been cheap and plastic but it came out of the first Cracker Jack box that Alex had ever had and Nate had bought for her to have. She was ecstatic like a child on Christmas Eve when Nate had bought it for her. Nate made fun of her for it but she kept insisting that she was way too excited for Nate to down her mood. The ring had sentimental value to Alex and she just gave it away like that. The little girl was beaming once the ring was on her finger. Alex gave the little girl a second hug, grabbed her hand and tried to make her way through the wall of men with cameras. Nate came up and grabbed the other hand of the little girl as he led them through the barrier. This sent the paparazzi into a craze but Nate was sure to stay close just so anything bad couldn't happen. If it did, he would be there to protect.

Once Nate had successfully gotten them out of the crowd for the most part before the paparazzi began to follow them, Nate took a single glance at Alex who had the most caring eyes directed right at the little girl who was telling Alex a story about her lost stuffed elephant.

Alex's lips started to curl, "We'll surely have to find him sometime, Abby. I know how hard it is to lose someone you love." With that, the little girl let go of Nate's hand momentarily and abruptly stopped Alex mid-stride to give her legs a hug.

Abby mumbled into Alex's denim covered leg, "Thank you, Alex!" Allie giggled.

"Okay, Abby, we need to find where you live. Your mom must be worried."

* * *

The sun was setting and Alex had successfully led Abby home to her mother. Nate walked beside Alex with his hands in his pockets. Most of the paparazzi had gone home but there were a few stragglers thinking that something interesting might happen but Alex knew nothing was going to happen-it was a peaceful night that she wasn't going to mess up for anything. Alex began to walk closer to Nate and eventually she linked her arm with his and she leaned her head on his shoulder. She wanted to say something especially bad but the only way to do it was whisper in his ear otherwise the followers would hear her and know all about their marital problems. "Nate... Please know that I love you. And know that I want you to be with Alexis. If that makes you happy, then I'm happy." Nate pulled his arm out from Alex's embrace and she was a bit astonished but then was pleasantly relieved when she felt his arm around her waist pulling her in closer. The chill of the night was beginning to pick up.

Nate kissed the top of Alex's head and whispered, "If you ever need anything, I'm always here for you." Alex was on the edge of crying but she knew she couldn't. She assumed that by her concession and his that this divorce was official and they were actually going through with it.

"So... Does this mean that we still have to go through those ridiculous sessions?" Alex asked half jokingly but completely serious. Nate chuckled and she felt the vibration of it through his body as she leaned close. "I'll call Preston tomorrow."

That's when things turned sour. "Mmm... Why do you need to call Preston for?" Alex waited for Nate to continue. It didn't make sense to why he would object to her statement. "Why do you all of a sudden feel like you have to call Preston all of the time?"

"Nate, why are you being like that? Preston's our lawyer. Obviously, if we don't want to go to those sessions anymore, someone's got to tell him. I don't even understand what problem you have with him." Nate didn't want to sound like a fool. What he had against Preston was an irrational cause and it would just confuse everything even more. Nate had figured out why Preston annoyed him. It was the fact that Preston was trying to get at Alex even before the divorce. It was the fact that Preston never stopped "checking in" with Alex by text every hour or so. Alex didn't see anything wrong with it but Nate didn't like the rate at which Preston was pouncing on Alex. His heart may be yearning for Alexis but him and Alex had a lengthy history with a lot of drama that he caused and Alex still stood by his side. Nate understood that Alex was a necessity in his life because she understood him and she understood when he needed her to dig deeper or when he needed her to step aside and let him fix things on his own. Alex just was his best mate for five consecutive years going on six depending on whether this divorce will completely sever their relationship. Alex pulled away and walked on her own. Nate sighed.

"All right, Allie... I'm sorry." Alex took a deep breath in but exhaled quietly. Nate reached his arm back out for Alex to come back to where she was earlier, wrapped in his arms but she didn't come back. So, he came to her. She didn't squirm or fight back when he draped his arm around her hips and pulled her closer to his torso.

Alex sighed, "Sometimes, Nate... I love you too much and I don't know what to do."

**xoxo**

**Hey lovely readers :D I've been so extremely busy these past two weeks and I wasn't able to upload anything; but, here it is! The next installment. I hope you guys enjoy it. Also, thanks to the loyal reviewers. And thanks to the new reviewers too :) especially unperfectt. **

**I plan on replying to reviews this time. I know I'm awful at keeping up with that but expect a reply in the next day or two. To reviewers without an account, look at my profile and a review will be there for you :)**

**P.S. I really truly do love getting reviews. Not because it shows "popularity" but because I get feedback from you guys and we get to share opinions and likes and dislikes. So, please, do tell me what you think :) I'd love to know.  
**


	17. Chapter 17

Nate and Alex made it back home when the sun had set. They walked at a leisurely pace. Surprisingly, when they had been walking home Abby, it didn't seem to take as long. Possibly because Abby was a nonstop ball of energy. But spending that time with Abby really gave Alex some time to experience what it would be like to have a kid. Alex knew she always wanted to have children. When she got married to Nate, they both agreed that they wanted children but they wanted to wait. They were so young when they got married anyways.

Nate on the other hand got the chance to see just how great Alex was with kids. He'd seen her before but this time it was just him, her and that little girl. Even with the paparazzi around, Alex was calm with the little one. He instantly remembered why he knew that Alex would be a good mother. It was the same reason why he knew that he loved her. It was the same reason that he knew that Alex could be his forever. Unfortunately, his temptations got the better of him.

He didn't know what it was that made him want Alexis when he already had the girl of his dreams in his arms. Alex had a theory though. She never verbalized it but he's cheated on Alex enough times with Alexis that Alex and him have spoken about the topic and she had edged her words around her meanings. Nate came to understand her message as perhaps he never got the chance to see what it was like to have a mature relationship with Alexis and that's why he always went back to Alexis even though he was married to Alex.

Nate was ordering take out when Alex came out of her room in the West Wing. He stared at her as she walked out and toward him but she didn't really notice. She was wearing a college t-shirt and big sweat pants that Nate assumed was probably his. But what caught his eye was that she wasn't wearing any makeup and her hair was pulled out of her face with a headband and her hair tied up. This was a new step in their relationship. He hadn't seen her like this in so long and he really did appreciate her just like that.

Once Alex caught Nate's eye, she turned shyly away waiting for Nate to finish. When he did, he announced, "I think you look absolutely gorgeous." She smiled demurely and blushed. "By the way, Shane and Mitchie are coming over." Her smile dissipated just like that and he wished he hadn't announced the second order of business.

Nonchalantly, Alex said in no direct direction, "Shane can come but I'd rather not see Mitchie." Nate was confused a bit. He forgot about Alex's fight with Mitchie.

"Alex... I can't just say yeah to Shane and make Mitchie go home. They're engaged now." Nate could tell that Alex was going to say something bitter but he cut in before she got the chance, "Allie, they're only going to come over for dinner and then chill on the couch with us. We're not doing anything anyways right? She's your best friend."

Alex scoffed. "Just because I've fixed my relationship with you and I've pushed my hurt pride to the side doesn't mean I'm exactly ready to do the same with Mitchie." Nate gave her a confused look. "Gah. It was easier with you because I live with you and it's hard to ignore you when you're being obnoxious. But with Mitchie it's different, Nate." Before Alex could continue her explanation, the doorbell rang. Knowing it was Shane and Mitchie, Alex said, "I'm going to Jacob's." Nate's face twisted.

He did not like that Alex was going over to another guy's house, especially since Jacob was her ex-boyfriend who she had only good words for. Alex could tell that he didn't like it but she didn't give him time to open the door and then respond to Alex. She quickly walked out the back door when Nate ran to open the front door. Nate tried to catch her on her way out but she was too quick and he could see her car on the residential street already. Nate went back inside to entertain his guests, "Hey Shane. Hey Mitch. What's up?" Nate plopped onto the couch and Shane and Mitchie followed suit.

"Where's Allie?" Mitchie cut to the chase. Nate didn't respond and he pretended not to hear. "Where is she, Nate?" Mitchie was persistent in her badgering. "Nate."

Shane cut in now sounding annoyed and tired, "Nate, can you please just tell the girl. She's been talking about how Allie's not talking to her anymore since that day at our house." Shane squirmed beside Mitchie.

Nate sighed, he really couldn't avoid this, "Alright... Well, Allie's..." Nate didn't want to hurt Mitchie's feelings but he didn't know how else to say it, "Allie doesn't want to see you Mitch." Nate tried to avoid her gaze but he could tell she wasn't happy. She tried to put on a strong front but her eyes watered and her lips quivered into a thin line. Shane wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. Mitchie was obviously hurt. "Well, I'm going to go check on that take out." Nate pushed himself off of the couch. "Listen, Mitch, we love you but you just got to give her some time. She'll come around, I'm sure."

Shane shushed Mitchie soothingly but had to ask, "So then where is she, Nate?"

Nate froze and just thinking about it made him angry but he tried to nonchalantly say, "She went over to Jacob's place."

* * *

Alex arrived at Jacob's house in what seemed like little time. He didn't live in the same neighborhood but he had an apartment out in the city. The trip gave her some time to clear her mind. When she did arrive though, she sat in her car thinking about what she just did. She couldn't just show up at his door and knock. Well she could but what if he was on a date? What if he brought home a girl? What if they're having sex? Oh my goodness, Jacob's having sex. He's getting it on. He's getting it on and here Alex is just blah. Does anybody want to sleep with her? Is it because she's not hot? Alex had those thoughts running through her mind rapidly. She looked down at her body and looked at what she had adorned on her petite frame. Nothing special or flattering. Figures nobody would want her.

Alex got out of her car and figured that it wouldn't hurt to just check up on Jacob. Once she was on the stoop of the apartment building she quickly changed her mind and ran back to her car. Sitting there, she thought it best to swipe on some makeup even if it was rudimentary. She went back to the door of the apartment building again but thought better of it and went back to her car. A few more trips to the apartment building door and back to her car filled her next twenty minutes. Alex was sitting in her car silently reprimanding herself for acting like such a fool. Alex finally mustered up enough guts to go back. Just when she was about to chicken out again, the door opened and somebody grabbed her elbow. She spun around and it wasn't some pyscho, it was just Jacob. She wrapped her arms around Jacob quickly and swiftly. She mumbled into his shirt, "Hi."

Jacob wrapped his arms around Alex tightly and didn't lighten up until she pulled away. Her eyes were beaming up toward his and it was kind of hard for Jacob to understand what her eyes were saying to him. So, he didn't let it vex him anymore. "Why don't you come in and then we can talk about stuff." Alex nodded and Jacob grabbed her hand to lead her up to his apartment but not quick enough for the paparazzi to snap a quick pic.

"So, what's wrong, Allie?" Jacob sat down on a stool by the island as Alex followed suit but on the other side.

"I-I just needed somewhere to go before I went crazy." Alex sighed and pulled the stool closer to the island so that she could lean her forearms on the island between them. "Sorry, I'm kind of intruding."

Jacob shook his head amused that Alex thought that she was ever intruding, "Nah, it's fine. I'm always happy to see you. You're always welcome to come to my place." Alex shyly smiled but it still had Jacob wondering. "So, what's really wrong?" Alex sat still and didn't show any sign of answering the question, "Okay then, let's start with this question. Why would you think that you were intruding?"

Alex smiled a bit, "I thought you had a girl over or something. I didn't want to interrupt with my problems if you were having some intimate time with a _girl_..." Jacob chuckled before adding, "Why do you sound so disgusted?" Alex couldn't help but laugh.

"Did you eat yet?" Jacob slid off the stool and opened the fridge before freezing to wait for Alex's response. Alex shook her head. "Then it's settled, I'm making you something to eat."

Alex began to argue like she always does when someone tries to do something nice for her, "You don't have to. In fact, I can just grab something on my way home. I came to spend time with you. Not so that you can cook dinner for me and then I leave." Jacob shook his head.

"You are spending time with me. I'll make you something and you can do what you do best." Alex's eyebrow raised in question. "Look pretty." Jacob smiled like he had just won something that he knew he was going to win anyways. Alex shook her head and feigned anger.

"Can I help?" Alex asked faintly. She didn't want to be a burden in the kitchen while he was trying to create a masterpiece.

"Yeah, totally. Don't be shy, Allie. It's not like this is your first time in my kitchen." Jacob was right, Alex thought. She'd been in his kitchen before. She'd even cooked in his kitchen before. But that was before. That was before all of the craziness in her life came to a head and before she decided to come face to face with the monster on her back.

* * *

There was not a paucity of conversation as they ate but Alex had a sudden thought and she just didn't want to burden him with asking but Jacob could tell and he insisted that she spill, "Okay, okay." She giggled, "But promise me that you won't freak out and not talk to me and make it all awkward for me to talk to you."

"When have I ever done that?" Alex giggled and shrugged. "Okay, so go on with it."

"Okay, okay. So I was wondering if I could move in with you?" There was silence and Alex tried to clarify, "Until I find a place of my own and stuff...?" There was still silence and Alex didn't know how to fix it. "I know the question is totally awkward... Sorry. I guess I should just go and see you soon." Alex pushed herself away from the table and the legs of her chair scratching the floor made an impossibly loud sound that surprised her. She got up and started walking away.

"Allie." She froze. "Sit down. We didn't even finish eating yet." From what Alex could tell, he didn't seem fazed by her question. Alex sat back down. "Look, I know that me not saying 'yes' might hurt your feelings but Alex," he looked at her with intense eyes, ' by me saying 'yes,' I'm completely ruining everything for you."

"How so, Jacob?" One thing was for certain, Alex was confused by Jacob's reasoning and she wasn't going to let up until he gave her an answer that made sense. "I don't understand."

"Alex, you're going to have a divorce. The best thing to do is just be independent for awhile. I love you, Allie, but I would be totally hurting you if I just let you lean on me while you were healing." Alex nodded pretending to know what he was talking about.

"Whatever. Thanks for the dinner. Sorry to be such a burden tonight." Alex got up and started to walk toward the door. Jacob came up after her and caught her by the wrist.

"Allie, honestly. It's not that I don't want you here but you just have to believe me right now when I say I'm trying to help you." Alex shook him off.

She tried to mask her anger and embarrassment but she couldn't help but let it shine through, "Yeah, I understand." She left on bad terms with Jacob. She didn't even comprehend what he was trying to say. By him not letting her stay there, it was better for her? That totally didn't make any sense. She just needed somewhere to stay and preferably with a best friend. This thought made her mind roll back to Mitchie. But Mitchie betrayed her by defending Alexis. It was kinda weird that Nate had a thing for girls with such similar names. Alex feared that her relationship with Mitchie wouldn't fix itself like all the other times it had. This was the longest they had not spoken to each other when they were angry at each other. Well more like Alex was angry at Mitchie but who's keeping track?

* * *

"I'm moving out, Nate. And this time, I'm serious." Alex was packing up her things in her suitcases when Nate came rushing in and accidentally ran into her door trying to stop himself in the process.

"What? Why?" Nate seemed frazzled and Alex couldn't help but giggle.

"I just can't stay here anymore. I guess. Are you going to sell the house?" Alex spoke like everything was back to normal and that she wasn't just about to leave Nate.

Nate was hesitant to answer, "No... I wasn't planning on it." Alex nodded, still with her back facing Nate.

"So, is Alexis moving in or something? I just assumed that since you guys have been going out for awhile now that she'd move in and all. There's enough space for all of her stuff." Alex didn't sound insulted or angry. She just said everything like a friend would ask concerning another's relationship.

"I didn't even ask her. I just thought that I would keep everything the same. Except you won't be here." Nate said the last part with a little grief.

But Alex still remained normal, "Don't worry about it, Nate. It'll be fine without me. If you really need someone to keep the kitchen stocked and the house cleaned, just get some staff or something. It probably won't be hard to find some help around here. The neighbors, I know for sure, have a good staff. Maybe they won't mind giving you some recommendations or something." Alex finished up one suitcase and zipped it up.

"Okay..." Nate didn't want to say how he was feeling. That's what girls do. So he bottled it up for a later date and just honored her wishes and began to help her pack. "So, where are you going?"

Alex glanced up to see what Nate was doing but went back to packing once she caught a glimpse, "I was just planning on going to Cali like I told Preston. By the way, I called him and asked him to let us sign the papers and have him expedite the papers so our divorce can be finalized."

"What'd he say?" Nate dropped what was in his hands and remained totally focused on what Alex was going to say next.

"Uhm, he just said that he didn't want to let me do that because that's not his policy and he never has expedited divorce papers before." Alex didn't stop her packing. "But, he said he'd do his best in exchange for a date."

Nate completely was engrossed in what Alex had to say now. The new findings totally backed his theory of why Preston was doing all of this extra work for Alex. "So, what'd you say?"

Alex looked up and didn't show any other emotion but inside she found it humorous that Nate cared so much, "I said 'no'." Alex said it and shrugged it off like it was just another random person asking her to marry them. "I never really liked Preston like that. He gave me creeper vibe." Nate had the urge to go over and hug Alex but that would've been completely inappropriate with where they were in their relationship.

"So do you believe me now?" Alex shrugged. "I told you he wanted to go out with you. But anyways, is he still going to expedite the papers and stuff without us having to go to sessions?"

"When I have sex with him. Yeah." Alex said it with a serious tone. Nate became worried but after a few seconds, he could see a smirk growing on Alex's face. She threw a balled up shirt at Nate, "I can't believe you thought I'd have sex with somebody to get what I want." She giggled.

"In my defense, you're a really good actress and I can be fooled easily." Nate chuckled and a smile was plastered on his face. He threw back her sweater but Alex threw something else in his direction and it just turned into a clothes fight. Alex's clothes were flying left and right and Nate ran out of ammo on his side so he opted for just getting to Alex instead. Alex on the other hand was down to undergarments. Nate grabbed her and they both fell to the ground laughing.

Alex sighed and dropped her lacy bra and panties on the ground, "I'm gonna miss this. There's nobody else I'd rather be throwing my lingerie at." Alex teased.

Nate chuckled as he helped Alex sit up as he sat up, "I'm gonna miss it too, Russo." Nate leaned in as Alex sat still not able to comprehend his next move. He kissed her cheek ever so lightly. "Mrs. Gray." Moving now to her earlobe he flicked it with his tongue and sucked on it for good measure before moving to her neck leaving his mark. As he moved down further, Alex gained her composure and pushed him away.

"As much as I liked that, Mr. Gray, I can't have you cheating on your girlfriend." She smiled as she said it sarcastically. She got up off the ground and began to pick up her things. Nate quickly followed her but pulled her into a hug instead. At first, she was tense but after a few seconds she melted into Nate and her body against his was a familiar feeling.

He kissed her on the cheek, "Thanks for being you." Alex nodded and she let go to continue cleaning up but Nate didn't let go. So, she held onto him for as long as he held onto her.

**xoxo**

**I'm hoping to get some more out this week and next week; but, I'm making no promises! **

**Some of you readers are really good at predicting what I'm about to post. What do you think is going to happen next?**

**Oh and I should give you a SPOILER ALERT. Would you guys hate me if I gave a certain person a new love interest?  
**


	18. Chapter 18

Nate drove Alex to the airport with all of her bags. He parked the car into the airport parking lot. Even with the outrageous prices he still parked there. Parking there for a few hours doesn't cost anything. But parking there for a week or so, makes quite a dent in the average man's wallet. He helped her roll her bags to the check-in line. When they saw the extremely long line, Nate began to complain, "Allie, I don't even know why you wanted to do this, the line's so long. We have a jet you know."

Alex shook her head and her curls shimmied along her shoulders, "No, we don't have a jet. _You_ have a jet. In the divorce papers, they're yours. Preston said something like he was going to meet you sometime this week to sort all of the possessions out and he will call me so we can all talk about it together. But anyways, I wanted to ride coach. I like it." Alex smiled.

Nate sighed, "Yeah, but, Allie, first of all, everything is still going to be _ours_. I'm not changing any of that. Another thing. I absolutely dislike Preston, I'm angry at you for even setting up a meeting with just him and me. When you were there, there was something to distract me." Even though Nate might have said he was angry, he really didn't seem angry-just irritated.

By the time they made it to the security gate, Alex was saying her goodbyes as she got a bit teary-eyed. "Bye Nate. I love you, OK? And not that I'm expecting Alexis to break your heart or anything but if she does, let me know. I'll be there to whoop her butt." Alex smiled again. "Okay well I need to be going." She began to walk away when she came back and gave him a hug that lasted for a good minute. She began to walk and Nate couldn't help but watch her go.

* * *

Alex arrived in California a bit tired but glad to finally be on land. The paparazzi snapped quick pictures of her and Alex cordially waved to them and signed things people pushed in her direction. She posed in pictures with fans and made sure to get to every one of them. Once she assumed that she was done with the small crowd she went to baggage claim with a cart. Slipping on her sunglasses she made sure to put her hair up so that her appearance was somewhat different than it had looked when she got off the plane. She had a lot of luggage. Though Nate was going to send her other boxes, she brought along four large suitcases because she figured Nate wouldn't send her her boxes right away even though she asked him to. As she waited for the first bags to pop out from under, she called her brother, Justin. "Hey Justin, I was wondering if you could stop by the LA airport and pick me up?" Alex listened for Justin's reply-a why? "I need a manly man to pull my suitcases off of the twirly thing. Can you do it?"

"Of course I can do it, Alex. I'm a man for goodness sake." Justin ended the phone call and Alex couldn't help but smile. She hasn't seen her brother since he moved out here with his then-girlfriend, Miranda. She started a tattoo shop with the infamous Kat von D. But now they broke up because he met another girl, Juliet but now she's long gone too. So, he's out here doing basically nothing. Just being a bachelor. But he's got a pretty decent job-Vice President of the Laboratory located in Hollywood. Alex was famous for her acting and musical endeavors but Justin was famous for his company.

By the time Justin had got to the airport, it was a bit too late to pull off the suitcases from the conveyor but luckily, some random guy had gotten it for her. He saw her struggling with one of her oversized bags and he offered to help get the rest of her bags. He introduced himself as Pierce. He had this kind of windswept hair do that was fitting for his facial structure and face shape. He was wearing aviators so Alex didn't get a glimpse of his eyes but from the rest of him, she could tell that he was smoking hot. His body seemed fit under his American Apparel sweatshirt and skinny jeans. His skinny jeans definitely didn't hug his body like tights but they were somewhat baggy and looked amazing on his frame.

"So, how long are you staying in California?" Pierce had these amazing lips that mesmerized Alex for a second before she giggled in embarrassment. He smiled lightly but she couldn't tell if he realized that she had been staring at his lips.

"I'm actually moving here." They both nodded their heads and he gave her a full smile and she still couldn't tell what he was thinking. "Do you live here?"

He nodded his head again, "Yep, I do. I moved out here a month ago or so." Alex didn't know why their conversation felt like it was going nowhere but Alex would be a fool to just let him go. He was so darn good looking. She knew that she was still married to Nate but it didn't mean she couldn't let her eyes just examine another, especially after Nate completely cheated on her several times. Anyways it wasn't like she had just instantly developed a crush on him or anything. He was just pleasant to talk to.

"Where'd you move from? I just moved here from New York." Alex was truly curious. It wasn't like she was just asking questions to fill the time.

"I just moved here from New York too." He gave her one of those cute smiles again and she could've sworn her knees just became jell-o. "I actually lived here first but moved out to New York to get some stuff done." Alex just wanted to know more about him and apparently he could tell. "Y'know Alex, it was nice to meet you but I have to go. My friend's here to pick me up." The corner of Alex's lips fell and she didn't know what she felt inside but it felt like her heart was dropping and her body filled with disappointment. "Do you have a ride or something?" Alex nodded but she still didn't perk up. "Hey, I'm going to walk out to the car, you can come with me?" The corner of her lips couldn't have curled fast enough. When they walked out of the building and the cool Californian air hit her, Alex couldn't help but just take it all in-the sunshine, the quiet, the breeze. He led her outside to this black SUV through the crowd as quickly as he could. The car was parked on the side of the road where the policemen tend to shoo people away. Pierce opened up the trunk threw his things in and went to the passenger door, opened it but didn't get in.

A guy who dressed quite a-like Pierce called to him not seeing Alex standing there too, "Hey Pierce, we have to get going, man. I don't know how happy Jordan's gonna be when he finds out that you've been lollygagging at an airport. I've been waiting for you for like half an hourrrr..." Then he noticed Alex standing beside Pierce. "Well, hello there pretty lady. Are you not going to introduce us, Pierce-y?" Pierce smiled a little.

"Yeah, sure. Alex this is Jared. Jared this is Alex." As Jared tried to flash his prettiest smile, Pierce whispered to Alex, "Sorry about him. He thinks you're hot."

Alex blushed and bit her bottom lip. She definitely hadn't felt like this for anybody else besides Nate before. "It's okay, as long as you think that too." Pierce's lips curled into a smile and Alex couldn't help but melt, she couldn't believe that she just said that. "Well, I don't want to keep you waiting. Sorry about that."

Pierce shook his head, "You're fine. I don't mind staying here with you until your ride gets here." Just as Pierce said that, a police man rolled up in his car and told Jared to get a move on but there was an exchange of words and the police man seemed satisfied and left. "Don't worry, I've got time." Something told Alex that he didn't have time by the way that Jared was shaking his leg impatiently but Pierce made it seem like there wasn't an end to the day.

Alex quickly made a scan of the area and saw Justin's little hybrid car pull up behind Pierce's SUV. "My ride's here." She smiled and wanted so badly to ask for his number but Alex was new at this. "Thanks for waiting. It's not everyday you meet a guy so chivalrous." Alex mentally slapped herself. She sounded so cliche.

Pierce chuckled lightly, "Yeah, it was no problem. Maybe we will run into each other again. The Hills is actually a small town." He began to help her with her bags but when he saw Justin come he said hello to Justin but then said goodbye with a cute wave and jumped into his car, Jared zooming off.

Justin was astonished by the stranger, "Wow, he was off in a hurry. He seems like a nice person, Allie. Where'd you meet him?" Alex just kept staring at the direction that Pierce left in and she couldn't fathom what her life would be like with him in it.

"Yeah. Whatever." Alex snapped out of it quickly when she realized her response didn't fit the question. "Oh, I mean, I just met him like half an hour ago when I made a fool of myself trying to get one of my bags off of the conveyor belt. He helped me and waited for like half an hour even though his ride was already here. Isn't that so chivalrous, Justin? I think he was off in a hurry with my heart." Alex grasped her chest and took a sharp intake of breath.

"Stop being so dramatic, Allie." Alex let go of her chest and nodded.

"Yeah, you're right." And like that, both of them got in the car and drove off to her new house.

**xoxo**

**Short, I know :/ But, I'm working on a new short short short story. First and second chapter's already up! It's called _Snow Day._ You can find it on my profile or you can put this without the spaces **www. fanfiction. net /s /6581226 /1 /Snow_Day** into your address/location (or whatever you call it) bar!**

**Also, review replies to the reviewers without an account will be on my profile in little time.**

**I really enjoyed the predictions I got about what's going to happen next! So, what do you think? What are your predictions?  
**

**I hope everybody is enjoying the holidays :)  
**


	19. Chapter 19

Nate watched Alex check her bags in and get her ticket. She didn't even glance back at him once. Nevertheless he kept watching hoping that maybe, just maybe, she'd look back and he could convince her that leaving New York was a mistake. After the person behind the Check-In counter took Alex's bags, she turned around to wave 'goodbye' to Nate. She had the sweetest smile on and he couldn't tell why. She got in line to go through the security check. He debated with himself whether or not he should go up to her and give her a hug 'goodbye;' the wave just wasn't satisfying. Just as he made up his mind, she already was too far in the line for him to get to her anyways. After he saw her disappear behind the metal detector, he decided it was time to leave. He walked slowly to the parking garage wondering why he should have to rush anyway. When he got home, he knew nobody would be there.

Looking around, Nate saw people rushing to get to their flights on time—the look of anxiety planted firmly on their face. He saw people being welcomed by their families and the joy in their faces. He wondered what his face looked like. Nate wasn't ready to go home yet. He just thought of an empty house every time he thought about walking to his car. Eventually, about an hour or two passed of him just sitting on the bench outside watching people. He got up realizing that he had wasted too much time at the airport. Dragging his feet, he got to his car. The rest of the drive home was flooded with the thought of Alex leaving and the amount of money he had to fork over because of where he parked.

Just getting back from dropping off Alex at the airport, Nate walked into his house and threw his keys on the little decorative table by the garage door. The long drive tired Nate out. He lightly jogged up to the master bedroom. Right before jumping into bed, he pulled his shoes off throwing them haphazardly to the side. As he laid there on his stomach with his eyes closed, his mind wandered.

"_Nate," a sweet voice whined trying to hold back laughter, "no really, stop!" More giggles spilled from her mouth. "Nate, you know I don't like to be tickled!" She pulled away and ran to the other side of the bed. Nate found it funny that she thought a bed in between them could stop him from getting to her. Her curly brown locks were a mess from squirming on the bed. His clothes were rumpled from rolling around. A dangerous smirk played on his face. She smiled anticipating his next attack._

A slender body leaned over Nate's; he suddenly felt a single finger trail up his leg, up the side of his torso and onto his back. The finger left a path of a tingly sensation that quickly disappeared. "Mmm," the sensation elicited a satisfied hum from Nate. He felt light kisses pressed in a line across his shoulders. He spun around and Alexis placed a gentle kiss onto his lips. Her hair draped around them. She planted another soft kiss. As she pulled away still hovering above him he whimpered "Alex..." He waited for the next kiss and felt the hesitation from the other person. He opened his eyes and mentally scolded himself. "-is."

Alexis pushed herself off of the bed and started walking away. "Shit. Alexis!" Nate scooted himself off of the bed and rushed to Alexis' side. "Babe, that was by pure chance that her name slipped out. I just lost my breath when I was saying your name, I didn't even get to finish saying it."

Alexis abruptly stopped in her tracks and turned toward Nate poking a finger into his chest. "That better be the reason, Nate." She dropped her finger to her side and kept walking. He hadn't realized until he heard the front door slam shut that he had been frozen still. Nate pounded his fist on the wall beside him. He couldn't believe he just moaned Alex's name while Alexis was kissing him.

Nate took about ten seconds to get over his mistake before he dialed Shane's number on his cell phone. "Yo, little brother! What's up?"

"Hey, are you busy tonight? I kinda just wanted to chill or do something." Nate knew he should've ran after Alexis; after all, she is his girlfriend. But, in the back of his mind, he just couldn't get over dropping Alex off at the airport that morning.

"Eh, yeah, sorry. I can't. Mitchie wants to have dinner at that restaurant down town tonight. She insisted we go." It took some time for Shane to add, "Do you wanna come?"

Nate was hesitant in accepting the invitation. If he went by himself, he would be like the third wheel. "You know what, I do. Thanks, Shane." Internally, Nate decided that he would take Alexis out as an unspoken 'Sorry' for calling her Alex earlier.

"So, uh, is there something wrong, Nate? You sound kind of... less chipper than normal."

Nate snapped out of his thoughts about how to ask Alexis out, "Yeah, I'm perfectly fine." Nate could tell how fake he sounded. He began to spew his thoughts knowing that Shane would just ask him anyways. "No, look, Shane. I effed up. I accidentally called Alexis, Alex when we were kissing earlier. I think she's royally pissed at me right now."

Shane chuckled, "Serves you right, little brother. Well, anyway forget about that other girl and just come out with me and Mitch tonight around 7 at the Swordfish. It'll be crowded so just call me when you get there." Nate could hear Mitchie screaming in the back. He couldn't actually make it out but he could tell she wasn't very happy. "Nate, I got to go. I'll see you later." Shane hung up the phone and Nate was all alone... again.

Nate dialed up Alexis. "What?" Nate could tell Alexis was still upset with him especially with her biting tone.

In the best fake sorry he could do, "Listen, Alexis, you completely misheard me and took this situation completely over the top. If I really had Alex on my mind, do you think I would've stayed in New York? No, I would've went with her to California. I stayed in New York for you, babe." He was hoping his little speech would change her mind; but, it sounded like she needed more convincing, "Listen, tonight I set up a double date with Shane and Mitchie. I know you know it's a big deal that I did this. We're going to that new restaurant downtown. We can spend the entire rest of the day together. We can go out. Get some coffee. Walk in Central Park. Then go downtown to meet up with Shane and Mitch. What do you think?"

"Whatever, fine. Meet me at the Coffee Cup on 7th and Main."

* * *

When Nate arrived at the coffee shop, he saw Alexis sitting inside through the glass windows. She had a cup of coffee and was texting someone on her iPhone. Nate quickly entered the shop and sat down in front of her. "Hey baby, what are you up to?"

Alexis, busy with her texting conversation didn't look up, answering in monotone, "I'm texting someone." Her whole body was frozen except for her fingers moving to type in the words for her next message.

"Oh yeah? Who are you texting?" Nate pulled her coffee cup closer to him and waited for her response. He realized that she was too busy to notice that he was about to drink her coffee—one of the things she always got onto him about. She never shared her coffee. Nate didn't want to go get another cup though because he just wanted a sip. Alex always shared with him. He quickly set the cup back down onto the table hoping she didn't notice. Her head popped up from looking at the screen.

"Nate, I saw that. You seriously need to start getting your own coffee." She scoffed and shook her head. "You're a grown boy and can afford your own coffee. You can finish your own." After pulling the coffee back towards herself, she focused her attention back on texting.

Nate slumped in his seat and murmured, "Right." Closing his eyes, Nate listened closely to his surroundings. He heard the scuffling of feet on the concrete floor. He heard the clinking of spoons in ceramic coffee cups. Then, he heard the sweetest voice floating through the hushed conversations of other patrons. His eyes shot open and he could've sworn he heard Alex walk into the shop.

Alexis leaned forward, "Nate," her voice dropped to a whisper. His ears perked up and he leaned closer to hear her. "Closer." He leaned closer about half a foot away from her face. "Closer." His lips were centimeters away from hers. She leaned in the rest of the way and took his lips in hers. First, he was enjoying the kiss. Things got a little heated and everything around them disappeared. Until, the barista was tapping on Nate's shoulder. Nate pulled away from Alexis, looking up at the employee.

With a timid and reluctant smile, the barista delivered a message, "I'm sorry, Mr. Gray, but we're going to have to ask you to leave through the back door. The amount of paparazzi outside along with the degree of their excitement is posing a safety hazard." Nate looked out the windows and saw middle-aged men with cameras jumping up and down, shoving to get the best shot of Nate and Alexis.

The only thing that ran through Nate's mind... _Crap_.


	20. Chapter 20

"So, this is it then?" Justin pulled up to Alex's mansion in Toluca Lake. Honestly, the house was pretty small compared to the rest in the area but Alex liked it's charm. Also, this way she wouldn't have to spend all of her time in a gigantic house made for a family when it was only her. Alex nodded her head as they both got out of the car and made their way to the trunk. "When's Nate coming?" Alex froze but then regained herself and kept on.

"Truth is, Nate probably won't be coming." Alex stopped and looked around making sure there were no paparazzi but she didn't want to risk it. "We can talk more inside." Once Justin lugged the rest of Alex's bags into the house, they sat down on the carpeted living room floor. "Nate and I are going to have a divorce BUT I think we're not going to tell anybody about it for awhile. See how things work out and if all seems to be fine. Our relationship will kinda fizzle. I guess."

Justin shook his head, "That's never gonna work little sis. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but you two are in the public eye and you can't just fizzle out your relationship. What happened anyways?" Justin did care it was just that he was laying so much onto her at once. She lost a little cool but realized that he was on her side and only wanted to help her.

She took a deep breath before saying, "I guess we really weren't ready for a long term relationship. Not to point fingers or anything but Nate kinda gave up on me by crawling back to Alexis every single time." Alex fell back and just laid there on the floor thinking while picking at the carpet.

Justin joined her. "What do you mean he crawls back to her?"

"I don't know. It's happened before. Every time he does it, I just sweep it under the rug like it's no big deal. I've suddenly turned into a Stepford wife. When things are good, they're amazing but when things are bad. It hurts really bad but nobody knows because somehow Nate and I have been pinned with the title of the perfect couple." Alex sighed, "Just help me fix this." Her open hand landed on her chest where she presumed her heart would be. She didn't mean to be dramatic but her act surely turned out that way.

Justin looked sympathetically at his sister but not in a way that he pitied her. He scooted over and wrapped his arms around Alex's tiny frame. "It's going to be okay, Allie. The next time I see that kid, I'm totally beating him up." Alex slightly laughed but she honestly didn't want Justin to.

"No, Justin. Please, you don't really need to do anything about it. Treat him just like you would've treated him before I told you. Nothing should change in your relationship with him anyways. It was just my relationship with him that changed. He's a good person." Alex nodded her head but everything inside of her wanted Justin to only be on her side. She had conflicting feelings about how to feel with Nate. On one hand, she thought he was an awesome guy and she didn't want to lose him as a friend. On the other, he cheated on her. That little piece of information turned around her whole perception of him as an awesome guy. She also didn't know if she could hold up and get over him like she knew she should.

Justin nodded. He would respect his sister's wishes but his respect for Nate had dropped immensely. Justin knew how it felt to be cheated on so he could empathize with Alex but he didn't know how it felt to be cheated on with the person you were supposed to spend the rest of your life with. "Just shout my name and I'll be there for you, Allie." Alex nodded her head as Justin let go of her. Alex couldn't help it but she let a few tears slide down her cheek. "You need to be strong through this." Alex nodded her head again because she knew he was right. She couldn't let tears fall every time she spoke about Nate.

"Wanna go to dinner tonight?" Alex just wanted to get out and have fun with her brother. This should be nice since she hadn't seen him in awhile. Then Alex thought about her little brother Max. "Let's just let it be us tonight. We can invite Max the next time?" She was extremely hopeful that she wouldn't have to break the news for the second time that day.

Justin must have understood because he didn't insist on inviting Max. "Yeah, totally. It should be fun. I'll take you out, my treat." A crack of a smile appeared on her face but quickly slipped away when she looked at her vibrating phone beside her. The caller ID read 'Love Bug.' She made a mental note to change that after the call. She looked up at Justin who nodded her to pick it up. Alex hesitantly picked up her vibrating cell phone.

Alex feared her voice would waver as she answered. "Hel-lo?" Her fear came true. She mentally slapped herself for not being stronger. She waited to hear Nate's voice on the other line. But all she heard was a bit of ruffling before she asked again with more solidarity, "Hello?" She waited a few more seconds and just as she was about to hang up, somebody responded.

"Yeah, hey." Alex waited for them to continue but the other person waited for Alex to confirm that indeed she was still there.

"Hi." Alex pretended to know who it was and she cordially said 'Hi.' The person knew though. Apparently, they knew her well enough.

"Allie, it's me Nate." Alex knew her caller ID said 'Love Bug' and it was Nate's phone but he sounded so different now. He sounded distant almost. His voice sounded strained and tired. She knew something was wrong but she tried to remain calm about it.

"Nate, what's wrong?" She failed again. She was honestly concerned for what ever reason Nate sounded so different.

"Allie, I just want to apologize before anything gets out of hand and all over the place. I don't know what I was thinking but I'm really sorry. I didn't want to make you upset. I didn't intend for it all to go down that way. I know what I did was a mistake and I just wanted to let you know before someone else told you or something." Nate was rushing his words which was so unlike him.

Alex was more attentive as she listened to everything he was spewing out. "What are you talking about, Nate? What did you do?" On the other end of the line she heard Nate sigh.

"I'm really sorry, Allie." Nate choked on the end of her nickname and he took a few seconds to compose himself. "Me and Alexis went out for coffee today after I dropped you off. Some paparazzi caught us kissing." Alex laughed. That's what he was worried about? Like that could even compare to her finding out about his reserved room at the Four Seasons.

"I don't know why you're so worried. It was bound to get out that you and I are no longer together. I don't think it should've come out now especially since the divorce papers haven't been signed or anything. But y'know I guess it's best this way. We don't have to release a joint statement anymore. Just tell your publicist to release a statement saying that we're over. Simple as that, Nate." She could hear his hesitation on the other line and another sigh.

"Alright. I just wanted to let you know, Allie." Alex could sense that he wanted to say something else but she glanced up at Justin who was staring at her with a serious expression. She waited a few more seconds to see if Nate would continue on his own or if she was going to have to badger it out of him. She knew guys didn't like that but Nate just seemed so hesitant about everything he was saying on the phone that it seemed imperative that she did.

"Nate? Is there something else you need to say?" Alex waited again. She didn't know why she was the one who was keeping this conversation going even though it was Nate who called and didn't bother to hang up. Alex really still did have a soft spot for Nate and she wasn't just about to be extremely rude to him.

More hesitation on Nate's part couldn't have been more unpleasant to Alex's ears. "No, I guess that's it." He sounded defeated but Alex couldn't seem to get anymore out of him.

"Okay, then. Take it easy, Nate." She clicked 'END' and put her phone down. Her eyes met Justin's. She could tell just by his expression that he wanted to know more about why Nate had called her. "He and Alexis went out today and they got caught by the paparazzi. He wanted to warn me that there might be a lot of news coverage on it and that I would probably be thrusted into the limelight more than usual." Alex shrugged and made it seem like it was nothing but with everything already going on, this would just stress her out even more.

Justin nodded his head and asked, "Did he even apologize?"

"Profusely."

That answer seemed to satisfy Justin enough. He pushed himself off of the floor and helped Alex up. They both walked to his car and made their way out to the city even though it was still bright out and not even close to dinner time. That entire afternoon, Alex and Justin spent exploring the city. Lots of things were to be done in LA but a lot of it was just the scene. Clubbing, dining out, and shopping were just ways for people to see their celebrities out in public. When the sun fell and the moon rose, Justin took Alex to a small diner. It wasn't anything special to the average person but to the Russos, it was very important.

As Justin pulled into a parking spot, Alex looked up and her eyes swelled at the sight in front of her. "Justin! I can't believe you brought me here." Her excitement was undeniable and she sounded like a child again. "Uh, you won't believe how long it's been since I've been inside."

"I'd figure so." Justin turned the key in the ignition turning the engine off. "C'mon, let's go inside. I've got a surprise." Alex quickly unbuckled herself and followed Justin inside. She clung to his arm and just as they entered a group of people jumped out at her screaming 'SURPRISE!' Alex looked around the diner-her eyes the size of saucers.

Alex let go of Justin and her hands flew to cover her opened mouth. Her hands dropped a few inches as she asked, "Oh my gosh guys! What are y'all doing here?" Alex's eyes couldn't help but scan again.

Jason, Nate's oldest brother, stepped out of the crowd of smiling people first, "Allie, Justin told us you were moving here so we decided to have a welcome back party for you!" He embraced her in a bear hug and didn't let go for a couple of seconds-a signature Gray hug.

Alex managed to muffle in his shoulder, "Ugh, I'm so happy he did. It's great to see y'all again!" She looked around the diner again with shiny eyes and looked back at Justin. She tackled him in a hug and he braced the impact of her body. "Thank you, Justin." She leaned up and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Best brother of the moment." She smiled widely as she went around to the other guests at her party.

After some mingling they all sat down at the gigantic table in the center of the diner. The table was just a bunch of smaller tables pushed together to make an extra long table for everybody at her party. Alex glimpsed behind the counter to see if she could see anybody in the kitchen. Justin pushed her slightly to get her attention, "Who are you looking for?"

Alex shrugged as if saying nobody but Justin could tell who she was looking for. "They're in the kitchen." Alex looked back at the kitchen but returned her gaze on Justin. He nodded his head toward the kitchen telling her to go. So like a five-year-old she got up and quickly went into the kitchen where she saw her mom and dad. Her parents both turned to the swinging door about ready to yell at the random person but their facial expressions softened when they realized it was their little girl.

"Hi, mommy. Hi, daddy." Alex felt like she was going to cry. She hadn't seen them ever since she and Nate got married. Alex scanned her parents trying to ingrain every little detail about them that had changed. They both looked older. Jerry's hair was starting to gray. More fine lines were on Theresa's face suggesting many days of worrying. Jerry was beginning to look more robust and Theresa had become a little more softer around the stomach. Theresa dropped her spatula and walked quickly over to Alex wiping her hands on her apron.

"Mija! It's nice to see you again." She pulled away but kept her hands on Alex's shoulders. Her eyes were glistening with tears. "Justin said he was holding a welcome back party for a good friend but that was all he told us. He didn't say it was going to be you." Alex couldn't help but smile at her mother. Her mother's voice had risen to a high pitch as she spoke and Alex could tell that her mother was on the verge of crying. Alex looked over to her father who stood at the grill still. Alex grew nervous to see what move he'd make next.

He too dropped his spatula and made his way to give Alex a hug. "Hey, princess." Alex always used to love being called that when she was a little girl but when she got to her teens and her dad called her that, she got pretty upset and then when he started to use it as an insult towards her when she was about to marry Nate, she was furious. He'd used the term as a name of endearment but because he didn't agree with her marrying Nate he began to use it in a way that mocked her-'the princess is royal so give her what she wants.' That's what made it hurt the most. All Alex wanted to hear was him use it like he originally meant it. And here she was in his arms with him calling her her childhood nickname he dubbed her.

She muffled into his shirt, "I love you, daddy." For some reason, it wasn't just the fact that she came back suddenly but it was the observation that she came alone that tipped her parents off about her current marriage status. They knew her mind well, though she hadn't talked to them much in five years-just on the major holidays.

"Mija, are you hungry?" Theresa rubbed Alex's back as Alex wiped away a stray tear as quickly as she could. "I can make your favorites." Alex waved her hand to dismiss the offer.

"No, mom. It's ok. I'll eat what you've already made. They're all my favorites." All of them smiled at Alex's comment. Alex gave her parents one more hug. She invited them to eat with her friends-in which they declined because they claimed they had to keep cooking though Justin had rented out the entire diner for the rest of the night-and then excused herself to join the chattering party outside. As she took her seat, she looked over at Justin who knowingly looked back and she gave him a smile only to receive one in return.

By the end of the night, everybody had made new memories and the majority left with full bellies. Alex asked her closest friends to stay a little longer because she planned to announce something to them before they had found out any other way. Justin and Alex helped their parents close up the restaurant and clean up the place and when they were finished. The small group that had stayed gathered around a table sitting down with a bottle of wine. Justin teasingly took Alex's flute away from her saying she was too young. She countered with saying that she had been old enough for a year now. For this she wanted her little brother to be there too so she called him up and waited for another twenty minutes as he arrived. Once she saw his car pulling up in a parking spot in front of the diner she ran out and gave him a hug before he could take another step away from his car.

They both got inside and Max took a seat in the circle. Alex looked around at all the curious faces-Jason, Max, Justin, Mom, Dad, Harper, Joy, and Mason-as she mustered up what she should say. "Well, I just wanted to let you guys know that me and Nate are getting a divorce." She said it plain and simple. She thought of other things to say as their facial expression began to sour.

Jason was the first to respond presumably because it involved his brother. "Allie, what are you talking about? Are you being serious?" He asked incredulously probably because he couldn't believe what she was saying. If someone had told her that she was going to get a divorce a few months ago, she probably would have had a hard time believing them too. Alex nodded.

"We are having a divorce. The papers haven't been signed yet but we both know it's for the best." Her eyes searched for her parents' who were both looking at each other. She could tell that they didn't approve but then again they didn't approve of her and Nate either. They were right the first time. Alex's eyes fell to her fingers holding the stem of her wine glass. "Besides he's already got somebody else." Everybody remained quiet yet their enraged energy was felt round the circle. Alex looked at the time and gulped down her little portion of wine, "Well, I've got to go. I have early meet and greets tomorrow. Justin, can you drive me home?" Justin sipped what was left of his and nodded. Everybody got up to give Alex and Justin a hug before they left. Alex didn't expect her parents to say anything. What could they say after they knew that they were right and Alex was wrong and now her marriage is ruined? They could say 'I told you so' but that wouldn't help anything.

Alex got into Justin's car pulling her jacket closer to her body. "Hey, are you cold?" Justin turned down the AC and didn't wait for her to respond before he took off his jacket and gave it to her. She draped it on her body like a blanket and thanked him. Somewhere between the diner and her house, she had fallen asleep. But when she woke, she glared up at her empty house trying to clear the sleep out of her eyes. "Alex do you just want to stay at my house for the night?" Alex couldn't help but want to. But, if she did stay at Justin's house tonight, she knew that she wouldn't have the strength to come back to her new house and live there by herself.

**xoxo**

**So, I've been really just ehh lately (well mostly today); but, I've been thinking of some future projects that I'd possibly start like doing a series based on other movies but Nalex style or reworking my previous stories so that they're better. I don't know.  
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**This chapter was to make up for my missed week of updating. What do you guys think about Alex's move to California? What about Justin?  
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**Review replies to the lovely reviewers without an account will be posted on my profile very very soon! Oh and YAAAYYY! 100 reviews? You guys are awesome! Thanks for talking nonsense with me :)  
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	21. Chapter 21

Nate sat reclined in a large brown leather chair with an open book laying on his stomach. His head was tilted back and his eyes were closed. He listened as the grand father clock ticked. Peaceful. It was dark outside. Though it was only eight in the evening, he felt like going to bed soon. He liked how quiet it was. He hadn't been able to get this much quietness ever since Alexis moved in. He didn't know where she was and he didn't really care right now. He simply enjoyed the lack of noise.

And then he heard the door slam. "NATE!" His peace and quiet atmosphere was shattered. "I invited some people over." She was at the front door and yet he could hear her loud and clear with the thick library door closed as if she were standing right next to him. The library door opened in a minute with Alexis bursting through. "Nate, did you hear me?" Her hair was ruffled from running to the library; but, he thought she still looked pretty. Nate nodded affirmation. "Then, why didn't you come when I called?" Nate shrugged, then put his book aside to follow her downstairs.

When he got down there, the lights were set on dim and a group of people were sitting in the living room on the beige suede couches. He nodded to everyone sitting on the couches and the floor. He sat beside Alexis who had taken a seat already. Looking around the living room, he didn't really recognize anybody. He whispered quietly to Alexis, "Who are these people?"

Alexis burst out in hoarse laughter at hearing what someone had said and while everybody else was laughing, she harshly whispered at Nate, "You should know these people. They're my friends and it's rude to forget who they are." Nate nodded. To the rest of the room Alexis said in a louder volume, "Who's up for drinks!" All of her friends shouted "ehh!" in unison as Alexis went to the kitchen to grab a bunch of booze.

Nate tried to act cool; but, he couldn't stop himself from just looking around the room nervously. He drinks; but, he's not much of a heavy drinker. He hangs out with people; but, he's not much of a socializer. He hates passing judgment; but, these people were dirty and nasty looking. They looked like druggies that she made friends with in the basement of a club. Well, for the most part they looked like that. Some of them were just grungy. He could deal with grungy; but, he didn't like to deal with possible eternal pot heads. Then proof was pulled out of a pocket. One of the guys sitting on the floor leaning on a corner of the coffee table with long knotty hair pulled some skins and herbs out of his ratty messenger bag. Alexis came back hugging several bottles of alcohol close to her body. "Ahh, yes! Good thinking, Jeremy. You definitely hit the jack _pot_!" A few of her pals laughed at the double entendre.

About half an hour into the group's fun when they were pretty much all stoned, Nate got up and left the living room. He grabbed his coat on his way out of the house. Shutting the back door behind him, he walked around the patio. The sky above was dark with twinkly stars. The house was far out enough away from the city that the light pollution from NYC didn't affect their view of the stars. Shoving his hands into his pockets, Nate sighed and looked up at the sky. The moon was bright and full. Pulling his hand out of his pocket, balling it into a fist and sticking out his thumb, he covered the moon. "The moon is the same size where you are." His fist dropped to his side and he shook his head. Alex made him watch too many Nicholas Sparks movies. He took a seat on a stone bench by some plants. His hand slipped into his pocket to pull out his phone. Flipping through the contacts he stopped at 'Allie', then clicked 'End'.

Closing his eyes, Nate set his phone down on his lap and mentally commanded for his phone to ring saying that Alex was calling him or at least texting him. "Just ring, phone. Just ring!" Nate let out the breath he was holding and decided to take a ride to Shane's.

Once Nate got to Shane's house, he ran to the door and knocked quickly. Mitchie opened the door with a surprised facial expression. For a few seconds, Nate and Mitch stood staring at each other. Well, more like Mitchie stood gawking at Nate who stood in front of her sheepishly. Finally, Nate cleared his throat and ended the silence, "Hey Mitch, can I come in?"

Snapping her out of her trance, "Oh yes, of course! Come in." As she said this she moved aside to let Nate enter the house. Nate could hear the TV on in the living room. He followed the noise as Mitchie followed him. Shane was on the couch laughing at some stupid commercial that had just passed his back toward Nate. "Shane, hon, your brother's here." Shane looked up.

"Oh hey, little bro!" Shane got up and jumped over the back of the couch. "To what do we owe this lovely appearance from the young Gray?" Nate shrugged and moved away from Shane to sit on the couch where Shane previously sat. Shane's face twisted, "What? What's wrong, Nate?" Shane and Mitchie hurried to sit on either side of Nate.

Mitchie poked him, "Spill, Nate. Now."

Nate sighed and readjusted his body with his arms crossed across his chest, "Nothing, I just miss familiarity. Is that so bad?"

Mitchie folded her hands in her lap, "What do you mean familiarity? Is there something you're possibly hiding from?"

Nate shook his head and Shane continued, "What do you think is missing from your life? Do you think you can replace it or do you think perhaps what you're missing is in your life but you're just over-looking it?" Shane really dug in and marked each question with the tip of his index finger.

"Umm, no." Nate shook his head again. "Thanks, guys; but, I already tried this once—the whole relationship therapy didn't work out for me all too well the first time. Yeah, so can we just—"

"Nate, shut up, silly!" Mitchie slapped Nate's leg and giggled, "We're not trying to give you therapy and psychoanalyze your thoughts and such. We just want to know. That's all. Also, have you talked to Alex recently? I haven't really talked to her, lately. Is she at the house?"

Shane sighed. "Alright, Mitch, give it a rest." Shane stood up and walked over to the TV. He rummaged around looking for something and finally, he stuck in a DVD. Shane sat back down next to Nate as the movie started.

* * *

It was 3 in the morning and though Shane offered Nate a bed at his house, Nate declined and returned home to his girlfriend, Alexis. When he arrived, he got more than he was hoping for. Inside there was a smoky haze of smelly fumes. He heard Alexis giggling. He went to the living room where he left the gang. Almost everybody left but the living room was a mess. The sight before him just fired him up. Alexis was slouched on the couch with one of her grungy guy friends strewn on her whispering something in her ear causing her to giggle every now and then. Nate threw his keys on the counter making a clank noise. Alexis was startled by the noise pushing off her friend. She stood up and looked at Nate with an anguished expression. His heart was beating miles per minute and he felt so much anger inside of him, he thought he was going to explode. He never had to deal with anything like this when he was with Alex.

* * *

Nate walked into his house from the garage throwing the keys onto the counter and his jacket on the back of a breakfast table chair. He was slowly walking to the stairs when he passed by the hallway where Alex spent her last week in New York. He stopped in front of the dark hallway when he heard a few grunting noises. It had been a week since Nate had caught Alexis in a compromising position with her friend. She had been tiptoeing on eggshells around him since then. Nevertheless, she still invited her friends over to drink and smoke. His house was starting to smell like a dirty downtown apartment of a drug dealer. Nate instinctively followed the noise and his eyebrows scrunched together. The grunting noises became louder and he moved faster. He opened the door that he thought the noises were behind in haste. From what he saw, he didn't know what to think. Alexis was in one of his wife-beaters and her boxer shorts her bed head hair even more rustled that usual. That same grungy guy friend was in the room as well. He was on the other side of the room but his lumberjack plaid shirt was off and thrown on the floor. Alexis stood closest to the door and from being startled by Nate her hands flew in front of her clasped together like an innocent school girl. Nate looked from Alexis to the guy—who he couldn't remember the name of—and back at Alexis. He shook his head and retreated, walking away with purpose.

Alexis chased after him, "No! Wait, Nate. You don't understand." Finally, she caught up to him and grabbed his arms turning him around.

As he spun around, Nate felt the anger bubbling and he thought he might have done something drastic if he didn't let off some steam. Using a lot of voice and from his chest, Nate shouted, "What?" in Alexis' face.

She flinched but continued, "We weren't doing anything wrong, Nate."

Nate couldn't wait any longer. He just had to interject, "What was it that you weren't doing? If you knew that what you were doing looked wrong, then why'd you do it?" Nate was breathing hard trying to calm himself.

Alexis hesitated and with reluctance she added, "Jeremy just came over to help me move some stuff around. It was no big deal. If you love me, then you should trust me." Nate shook his head roughly; he couldn't believe she was playing the if-you-love-me card. "Nate, please. Calm down. I invited some people over and I don't think they'll feel welcome if you are so tense. Just relax." Nate pulled out of her grip and walked to the kitchen grabbing a bottle of whiskey and glass tumbler. Alexis stood in the hallway rubbing her hands together anxiously. After a few minutes of watching Nate, she went back to Jeremy.

Nate sat at the breakfast table waiting for Alexis' friends to arrive. He passed the time by drinking a little. Pre-party he reasoned. He had either become numb or he wasn't paying much attention but the burn of the alcohol wasn't scorching his throat. It was eerily quiet as he sat there. He could hear the refrigerator humming and the clock ticking. He listened for the tiniest sounds. He felt the silence was muting his hearing until he heard a rapping at the door. The signal that the party was starting. A group of people started to pour into his house once Alexis opened the door. She had changed into skin-tight black jeans, and high heels. They all bypassed Nate at the kitchen table to get to the living room and yet none of them stopped to say 'hi' until a couple hovered close by and then broke the silence.

"Hey, Nate." Nate spun to look at the source of the greeting. It was Mitchie. Upon seeing the questioning look on his face, Mitchie continued, "Alexis invited us over tonight. This should be fun so come on. Let's go sit with everybody." Mitchie grabbed his hand and pulled him to the living room following Shane. Everybody was already set cozy. Alexis saved a seat next to herself for Nate and Jeremy sat on the other side of the room. Nate couldn't help but look for him. He wanted to make sure Jeremy was far away from his girl. Once he sat down, he placed a territorial arm around Alexis as if saying 'She's mine.' Mitchie took a seat on the other side of Alexis.

In her raspy voice, Alexis began, "Alright, everybody. Tonight's about the fun we're going to have and we're just going to forget about all of our problems for a little. So let's start drinking!" One of Alexis' friends with the handlebar mustache pulled out an Altoids tin. Nate could only suspect that there was weed inside. Glass tumblers were passed around the circle. Alexis passed around the first bottle of alcohol. Once everybody had a cup in their hands, they toasted to living life and everybody took a swig of their drink. Nate was a bit hesitant; but after seeing everybody else, he thought 'Why the hell not?' and he didn't take a swig of his drink; he downed it. Alexis got up to get the music started and from there, everything seemed more relaxed. Nate was already a little buzzed from before and the fumes of the weed were making the room hazy. Next thing Nate saw was Shane getting up and leaving the circle.

When Alexis came back, she had shot glasses and some vodka. Alexis screamed over the music, "Truth or Dare, sluts! Here are the rules," she set down the glasses in front of everybody on the coffee table and started filling them up, "if you chicken out, you'll be giving up a piece of clothing." She smiled wickedly, "I guess it's a bad thing I forgot to wear more layers." She finished filling up the glasses and set the bottle down. "Alright, drink up everybody!" They all reached in to grab their little shot glass and threw the liquid down their throats.

After a while, Shane came back in to find Nate acting like a fool with an empty vodka bottle in his hand. Mitchie was dancing around half naked on top of the coffee table with Alexis by her side. Alexis' guy friends were ogling the two and the girls danced around the table below them. Shane thought it best to take care of Nate before he took care of Mitchie. She didn't seem as smashed as his little brother. Shane grabbed the bottle out of Nate's iron fist grasp and placed it onto the floor hoping nobody would step on it. Nate was fighting back with Shane but eventually stopped. "Nate, we're going to take you to bed now, okay?" Nate started to talk.

"Shane, I think I might have had a little too much to drink." Nate enunciated every word the best he could. With Nate leaning on Shane for support the began to walk up the stairs. "I don't think I've ever gotten this drunk before, Shane." Shane nodded his head. "Y'know..." Nate stopped for a second. "Alex won't be in my room when we get there." Nate kept going after thinking for a little. Finally, Shane got Nate into his room and into his bed. Shane was about to leave but Nate pulled him back, "Shane, Allie went to Cali. She went to go see LC, y'know, from the Hills. They're going to party at Les Deux with Ms. Piggy from the Muppets. I always hated those puppets." Shane shook his head; his brother was talking nonsense. Nate pulled the comforter up closer to his chin and started to snuggle his eyes falling close. "She left me, Shane. If I wanted to go streaking right now, she wouldn't be there to stand by me or tell me to stop." Nate pulled his legs up and laid in fetal position, "Shane, she's not here for me anymore. Those stupid Muppets took her." Then Nate finished and went to sleep. Shane stood there for awhile thinking about what Nate just said. Most of it was rubbish; but, some of it was probably not supposed to be heard by anybody.

* * *

Shane sat on Mitchie's bed reading an issue of _Cosmo_ magazine. He was paying close attention to the skin care section when Mitchie spoke from the bathroom, "Shane, we're going over to Nate's tonight. Alexis is having a house warming party."

Shane pulled his attention away from the _Cosmopolitan_, "What? Nate's lived in that house for years now. Why do they need to have a house warming party?"

From inside the bathroom, Mitchie answered his question while she did her makeup, "Alexis just moved in. She wants to invite everybody over for a gathering at her house and then we'll just chill with the usual people. It's just going to be really chill."

Shane scrunched his eyebrows together, "By chill, you mean dope and crap right?" Mitchie let out a sound of affirmation while she was putting on some eyeliner. "Can you just not go for one night? You've been over there for like every night of the week already." Shane didn't get an answer so he continued, "Can we just do something together by ourselves somewhere where Alexis isn't? Just like old times."

Shane heard Mitchie set down some makeup brushes onto the counter before she came out of the bathroom her makeup half done. "No, Shane. We need to go. Alexis moved in and that's huge plus it'll be fun. Jeremy's bringing a bong." She went back into the bathroom but when she thought Shane was going to start back up with talking she came back out of the bathroom.

"Why do you want to go so much?"

"I just told you, Shane, we need to go for moral support."

"And because of the drugs that will be available at the party and all of the booze." Shane was starting to get tense and he knew that she was going to try to defend herself.

"No, Shane. It's for moral support." Her voice began to raise, "And so what if I like to get drunk every once in awhile? Or if I like to get high every now and then? It's totally and completely fine. Alexis does it every night and Nate doesn't care. He's cool about it. Why can't you be more like your brother?" Mitchie was fuming.

"What is wrong with you, Mitchie?" Shane began to become defensive of himself yet very offensive to Mitchie. "You use to look down on that kind of stuff. You use to shake your head every time you saw Alexis get drunk or get high and now you're just like her. And I bet Nate does care. You're just too drunk or high to see it when you're over there. I've let you go hang out with Alexis all the time and now I'd like to spend some time with my fiancee alone. Is that too much to ask for?"

"You know what, Shane. If you think I've changed so much maybe I'm not the right girl for you anymore. Maybe we just need to relax for a little bit. If being your fiancee means I don't have a life anymore, then I don't want to be your fiancee anymore. I don't ever remember you being this possessive when we were just dating. Maybe it's better to be your girlfriend."

**xoxo**

**Okay, so finally I finished this chapter :)**

**I lied. I said I was going to move those review replies to my profile but I'm just going to leave them here. But just in case for those people who don't want to read them again (if you read my first update this week) then just skip the unbolded part after this and start reading when the bold picks back up :)  
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to Jsixnsiw: I'm sorry but I don't think I quite understand what you meant to say in your review. What do you mean by I can't wait any longer? Is it the ending? Is it the amount of time I take to update? I'm trying the best I can. I kind of doubt you'll see this since you said you're done reading my story. Anyways, thanks for reading and enjoying as much as you read of my story.

to UGotStyle: Thanks! I'm glad you love the story :) And per your request, I tried to write something up so I could post it within four to five days. It's not quite finished yet; but, I think it's enough to make a chapter or at least a snippet of a chapter. Umm, I don't want to give anything away; but, yeah there's a surprise for Alex something along the lines that you guessed/suggested. Not all of it but the first part.

to 1234: Thanks :) From certain readers, they really gave me some input that I couldn't deny were some amazing comments and it really opened my eyes to see that I did need to add a little more of Nate's side while Alex was away in Cali. For Justin, I didn't mean that he was going to be bad or whatever. I was just curious to see what you guys thought of him. Like do you like him? Do you think he's not acting like a real brother? Do you want to see more of him? Something like that :)

**I will be replying to the other reviewers very soon. So what do you guys think? Off with Alexis' head?**

**Oh and shout outs to unperfectt, liveinlove95, and L_is_for_Left. :) Thanks for reading and reviewing, I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter!  
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	22. Chapter 22

Alex received a guest at her front door as she walked from the driveway just back from work. If it wasn't the infamous Preston. Alex sweetly smiled as she made her way to her front door. Preston was sitting on the first step, "Hi, Preston." She stopped in front of him taking off her sunglasses. "What brings you out here all the way across the country?"

Preston chuckled, "I thought I'd catch some Californian sun." He looked up but only saw were bright gray skies, "I must've come at the wrong time." Alex giggled but still wondered why he had actually come. "Here." Preston pulled out a manila envelope from his side and shoved it in Alex's direction. "I guess you could call it a present from me to you."

Alex fingered the opening before she undid the tiny brass handles keeping the envelope closed at the top. Her smile drooped once she realized that they were the divorce papers. She stared at them for a couple of seconds and realized that she was lingering on them too long, "Well, I guess they're a little overdue aren't they Preston?" She looked at him expectantly but he just chuckled. "I've been waiting for a month now."

"I got them as soon as I could." He apologized with no meaning to it.

"I suppose that means that I'm your date for the evening." Alex slipped the papers into the folder again. She waited for his response but since he didn't show any sign of giving one any time soon, she got up and went into her house. He followed and looked around her pretty empty house. She hadn't gotten the time to decorate it yet especially since Nate hadn't sent her stuff yet. "Welcome to my humble abode. I have yet to call the interior decorator." She threw the envelope onto her counter and turned around to face Preston, "Well, c'mon. I know this perfect little place we can go to." She led him out to his car and they were on their way.

* * *

It was late at night when they had arrived back at Alex's home. "Y'know, Alex. I can't remember confirming my hotel reservation. Do you mind if I stay over?" Alex thought it over and she honestly didn't want him to. He had this vibe that Alex couldn't really pinpoint but she just found him creepy now. Ever since he 'jokingly' said that he'd get her the divorce papers in a day if she'd have sex with him. Of course, right after he made sure that Alex heard him say that he was 'just joking.' Alex had only had sex with one boy before and when another man asked her, it just came as a shock to her. She figured that Nate would be the only one to want to ask her. She might act like she's in her forties but Alex is still very innocent.

"Umm," Alex continued her 'um' to think of a good answer but she couldn't think of any, "maybe it's best that you don't. Don't mix business with pleasure, right?" Alex was getting nervous. She hated being around him alone in her house. His creepy vibe was definitely increasing. At first he was charming. Now he was just down right creepy.

"Isn't it a little too late for that Alex? You asked me to dinner, didn't you?" Alex stood in front of Preston completely frozen. "Besides, what's it gonna matter anyways? You dated Nate when you were working with him. Heck you married the a**wipe." Alex held her hand out for him to stop.

"Whoa, there. I was young and he's not a buttwipe." Alex didn't know why she was defending Nate but she felt the need to. Preston came closer. Alex did not feel comfortable at all.

"Just say it. I know you want me. That's why you're acting so jumpy. You're just playing hard to get." He came closer backing Alex into the wall. "Don't act so innocent Alex. I know you went out with Jacob Black while you were still married to Nate. So, it doesn't really matter now either. You have no morals or a conscience. So let's just do this." Alex shook her head and placed her tiny hands on his chest. He used his arms to cage her to the wall.

Alex felt the urge to scream when he came closer to her face. Just as she thought he was about to kiss her, his head bobbed down to her neck and she sighed in relief only to feel his tongue against her snow white neck. She stiffened wanting so badly for it to be Nate. Her body was reacting in a strange way. She was half scared out of her mind but the other half was completely getting turned on. She knew she didn't want Preston. He freaked her out for goodness sake! She kneed him because that's what Sandra Bullock did in Miss Congeniality. He faltered a bit his tongue sliding down Alex's neck. As she tried to escape when his arms fell down to his sides, his hands came back for revenge and grabbed her by her upper arms. She gasped and couldn't catch her breathing. Oh crap, she knew what was coming next. PANIC ATTACK! She gasped for air and tried to take deep breaths. His eyes and voice showed that he was still in pain, "What do you think you're trying to do, Lexie? Kill me?" Alex couldn't breathe and on top of that Preston just called her Lexie? It just seemed bizarre that Preston should call her that at that moment. People called her Lexie but the only person that came to mind first was Nate and he only called her Lexie in bed. So she had a 'wtf' moment. Preston began to pull her down to the ground. Alex tried to fight it but what could she do? She was frickin' helpless here.

"Stop! Just stop!" Alex managed to breathe out. He was on top of her now. He wasn't gentle about anything. He ripped open her shirt as he pinned her down to the hardwood floor. "Stop!" Alex regained her breathing enough to scream out the top of her lungs. Nothing happened to save her. She started to lose hope that he would stop. All Alex could think about was getting Preston off of her and wishing Nate was there. "Stop it, please!" Her voice was wavering threatening tears. His stubby fingers were racing down her abdomin to her pants' button and zipper; but upon hearing the tears, he pulled back and got off of her. She opened her eyes to look at Preston. The man she thought was an Adonis. Perfect in personality and physique. But here he was trying to force himself on her. Alex covered her eyes with her hands and counted to ten hoping to calm herself down.

She thought back to the times that she'd spent with Nate driving along the highways not knowing where they were really going, just enjoying the ride. She thought back to that time when Nate surprised her with a puppy but they had to give him away because Nate went on tour and Alex was going to go with him. She thought back to that time when Nate planned the sweetest date-a picnic in a park.

Her thoughts were interrupted when there was a knock at the front door. Preston shoved his hand in his hair. The knocks didn't stop coming for the next five minutes. "Wow, shit. I'm sorry, Alex. I-I don't know what came over me. I thought you wanted it." Alex shook her head scared that he might do something rash.

And then she heard a voice, "Yo, Allie! Open up! I know you're home; I can see your car out in the driveway and I know that you can hear me." The voice sounded tired and desperate but she knew it wasn't Justin or Nate. It was... "Allie, c'mon! I know you're still mad at Mitchie but that doesn't mean that you have to be mad at her boyfriend!" Shane.

Alex's eyes opened wide and she scrambled to button up her shirt and fix her hair. Preston was trying to regain his sanity. He settled with shaking his head in disappointment of himself. She struggled to stand up. She looked at Pierce again but this time instead of vulnerability she had disbelief. Then she saw Shane's body in front of a window and she knew that he would see Preston and her on the ground if he just looked around inside. The pounding continued snapping her out of her trance. Alex desperately tried catching her breath. She tried to think back to the good times with Nate but it wasn't working this time. She closed her eyes and pretended like she was in Nate's arms but it wasn't working at all. Tears started to run out of her eyes and her vision was blurred by the amount of water building up. The incessant knocking put pressure on Alex to get better soon but she couldn't control herself. She felt like she was going to pass out anytime soon now.

Preston stood up and ran to the front door. His clothes were still rumpled from their encounter. She couldn't hear anything anymore because she blocked it all out. She shut her eyes tight as she tried to gain control. She freaked out and started screaming when she felt someone touch her. She guessed it was Preston but it was just Shane when she opened her eyes she found out. Shane had covered her up with his jacket he had on. He embraced her as she cried and he rubbed her back and rocked her just like Nate had done for her so many times before. She was finally beginning to calm down and her heart wasn't beating a thousand miles per minute. Alex wrapped her arms around Shane's neck as he lifted her off of the ground to put her on something more comfortable.

When Alex stopped crying and she thought she was all good, she freaked out again, "Where's Preston?" Her eyes shot open wide as she strained her eyes to look for him.

"Okay, shhh. It's okay Alex. He's gone now. That poor guy's not going to try anything on you anymore." Alex held onto Shane tighter and she could feel the vibration of his chuckling. She looked up at him and she believed him. She trusted him enough and his facial expression told her to to believe him but she couldn't tell why he was laughing.

"What are you doing here, Shane?"

Shane loosened his hug on Alex but she grabbed for him tighter. "I'm here because I was worried about you. I didn't know that you moved out to California until Nate finally fessed up one night when he was drunk and told me." Alex frowned; it wasn't like Nate to get drunk. "He hasn't said it yet, Allie, but I'm almost positive that he sincerely misses you."

Alex shook her head to dismiss that notion. "So, what's this I hear about Nate getting drunk?" She didn't know why but she was getting angry over Nate being drunk. She shouldn't care but for some reason she did. Shane held up his finger telling her to wait for a second and slickly slid out of her embrace and ran up stairs. After a few minutes, he came running back down the stairs with sweats and his t-shirt.

"I found your room and I found these sweats on your bed but I couldn't find anything comfortable for you to wear so here." He shoved his findings to Alex in a childish way that made her smile but she still wanted a response from Shane about Nate getting drunk. When she looked at him expectantly after putting on everything while Shane was turned the other way, it took Shane a couple of seconds to realize why she was looking at him like that. "Oh, right. Well... Alexis and Nate live together now... As you must already know since it was your old house." Shane stopped awkwardly but tried to forge on, "And well, Alexis had some friends over. Mitchie was invited so naturally I had to go too. I was chilling out on the deck but then I went in to find them all doing shots. They were playing truth or dare, y'know the risque kind-if you chicken out of anything you give up a piece of clothing-and Nate figured well, he's chickening out a lot, so why not just down that bottle of vodka." Shane stopped again. "It was not good, Allie. I'm sure he had a terrible hangover the next day."

Alex shook her head angrily, "Well, y'know what? It's whatever, Shane. Because me and Nate don't matter anymore. We're just 'friends' and he can do whatever he wants... Besides I don't want you to give me an update of his every move. I'm not that kind of person and you are definitely not good at telling stories." Alex joked around a little to lighten the mood.

But Shane knew. "Yeah. I leave tomorrow morning anyways. I just wanted to check up on ya. I'm sorry I can't stay longer. It's just that Mitchie doesn't know and if I'm gone for too long she'd figure out that I'd left somewhere. Then we'd get in a fight about where I was. Then she'd say that I take your side on everything."

Alex hesitated a little, "Wait, earlier you said 'Mitchie's boyfriend'... You didn't say fiance." Alex looked over at Shane who seemed a bit melancholic. "Shane?"

"Mm. She said that maybe we weren't ready. I said that we weren't ready. I've never felt the urge to break up with Mitchie, ever. But all of a sudden, Alexis is in her life 24/7. I can't get a word in edge-wise. All she talks about is Alexis and all she does is insist we hang out with Alexis. Her mannerisms are beginning to mirror Alexis' and I like Alexis but not that much. Not enough to want my girlfriend to be just like her. I don't know, Allie. I just want to break up with her. But I love that girl, and I said that I wanted to be with her forever and she's just changed on me. She's flaky too." He sighed and Alex didn't know what to do but just hug him.

"Listen, I know you have to go in the morning and it's already really late so... why don't we just take a rest and hopefully tomorrow will be a better day?" Shane nodded beside her. Alex kissed Shane goodnight on his cheek and she went up to her room. She made sure to lock all of her windows and the door to her room. Shane slept on the couch. Alex lied awake on her bed and she had that feeling in her heart of creeper vibe and she was just being paranoid but she wasn't completely devastated by what had happened that night.

Did she give him the wrong message? Did he think she was easy? Did she blow it out of proportion? Most importantly, did she want it? She didn't know why but she didn't feel like it was entirely Preston's fault. She trusted Preston. She almost had a crush on Preston. One thing's for sure, she wasn't going to go back to him anymore. She wasn't going to necessarily go out of her way to blacklist him but if someone asked her for any suggestions she would definitely ward them away from Preston. She decided that she needed to sort this out with Preston. This would've never happened if Nate was still her's.

**xoxo**

**Oh, yesss! An early chapter! Did you guys miss Alex? I feel like it's been a long time since we've seen her, even though it was only two chapters ago? Anyways, I had written this entire chapter about how Preston was supposed to be a perv. Then I decided to scrap it because so many of you liked him so much :) So he's not officially a perv but he kinda came on too strong.**

**To many of your reviews, I just want to quickly sum up that, gee you guys are really good at predicting stuff. It's not even like you guys say it and then I write about it. It's like I wrote about it and haven't posted it yet and you guys guessed it. If you guys do have suggestions though, definitely tell me :) I love suggestions. I do listen to every suggestion and if I think I can do it, I try my best to get it done.**

**I was going to start putting review replies to the reviewers without accounts on the chapters but I just replied to them here and realized I had written too much and that it made my author's note entirely too long. So to the lovely reviewers without accounts, my replies to your comments are on my profile! Read them while they're hot! I might take them down real soon because I think they mar my rep. Ha, if I even had one.**

**Anyways, I also misuse author's notes I think. Author's notes are supposed to be like "Well, I made sure to make this character do this and that to make it apparent that he/she is definitely a pyromaniac," right? Maybe not. I'll just continue doing what I've been doing. Or do you guys like it better when I don't say anything at all? Oh and before I forget, I left some wannabe spoilers in my review reply to Laura on my profile. So flock to that if you'd like a sneak peek at the future of Nate and Alex. It's barely much but I think for some shippers, you'll like it kind of. Here's another attachment spoiler to the other ones in Laura's review reply, don't get too attached to those ideas though. They might not turn out all that well or they could be misleading! That doesn't give away too much I hope.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! I hope you enjoy the next chapter!  
**


	23. Chapter 23

"Hey, thanks for picking me up by the way." Shane finished saying as he climbed into Nate's black SUV. "I know it was last minute and all." Nate had some music playing quietly in his car and he nodded his head.

"Yeah, I didn't even know you went somewhere." Shane shrugged and gave a facial expression that seemed to offer any kind of response. "So, where did you end up going?"

Shane looked out the window at the people loading up their cars as Nate began to drive away. "Oh, y'know, I went out to visit Allie. I hadn't seen her in awhile so I thought it would be a nice little visit." Nate nodded his head and tried to play off the fact that Shane visiting Alex bothered him a little bit. "But, if you could not say anything to Mitchie about this, that'd be great. She doesn't know that I went to California."

An expression of confusion lit Nate's face, "She doesn't know that you went to California... Shane. I thought I was the only Gray brother to hide things from their significant other." Shane stayed quiet for a bit before Nate continued. "I won't say anything. You must have a good reason. Anyways, I just thought you should know then that Mitchie came over to my house last night so I think she didn't mind your absence too much."

"Yeah? What'd you guys end up doing? Drink?" A tinge of disgust stamped Shane's tone.

Nate nodded. "Yeah. Don't say it like that though, Shane. It's all in good fun that we drink. It's not like we're addicts or something."

Shane scoffed and repeated Nate's last two words, "Or something." For the rest of the ride home, both were quiet.

* * *

"Babe, can you come here please?" Nate called out to his girlfriend, Alexis. She walked into the kitchen and stood beside her boyfriend grabbing him around the waist and resting her chin on his shoulder. "What do you think about one night without the gang?" He felt her shrug behind him and her grasp around him loosened until her arms fell off completely.

"I don't know, Nate. Jeremy's already on the way over and they're so use to coming over here every night. Don't you think it would be rude of us to just say 'don't come'?" Alexis backed up and leaned against the counter by the stove while Nate stood at the island.

Nate took a serious look at her and noted how good she looked in her outfit today before saying, "I think that them coming over every night without my invitation is rude." Alexis's face scrunched.

"Nate, this is my house too. If I don't mind that they come over every night than you should just deal with it. They're our friends and you can't just be rude to them like that." Alexis paused for Nate's response but she jumped at the chance to accuse him once the idea popped in her mind. "Oh, I get it. You think that my friends aren't nice or rich enough to be here, don't you?" Nate didn't even get a chance to deny what she said. "No, you're jealous of Jeremy and Pat aren't you?" Nate didn't even know what she was talking about. "You saw Jeremy in the same room as me a few weeks back and you got nervous thinking I would run away from you."

Finally, Nate got a word in. "Wait, if you think I'm jealous of Jeremy because he was in the same room as you, then why would I be jealous of Pat, Alexis? What did you do with Pat?" Alexis stood stock still.

She looked at him and he couldn't tell what was going on in her mind. The only thing he could tell was that she was hesitant to answer his question. "Ok... We don't have to have them over for a night. Just drop whatever it is you're thinking."

"Alexis..." Nate stood staring at her but he prepared to stop her if she tried to run away. "Tell me." Alexis shook her head. She moved forward closer to Nate and kissed him. Hoping she could distract him from the topic, she continued her soft sensual kisses until she could feel him responding back to her kisses and deepening them.

After she felt him eagerly participating in their activities, she led him to the couch sitting him down before straddling his lap. From there, she seduced him until she was absolutely sure all he could think about was the pleasure she was giving him and not the things she did with Jeremy or Pat or anybody else.

* * *

Alexis was finishing her makeup with blush while Nate was rushing behind her to get a slim black tie knotted around his neck. She looked up at him using the vanity mirror and she watched him struggle with his tie. "Nate." Nate paused and looked at the area with the vanity. He froze because of déjà vu.

"_Nate." Her sweet voice called out for him from her vanity. She sat there in all her beauty watching him from the mirror with the cutest smirk he had ever seen. She set down her foundation brush and asked him once she knew that his attention was on her, "Do you need help with your tie? I can help you." Nate shook his head. He was a man now. Sure, he was still under twenty-one but he's married now and has a house and his mom doesn't clean his room for him anymore. He's a man—a man who can tie his own tie._

"_No, Allie. I don't need your help. Thanks, anyways." She sat still watching him with an amused expression at her vanity. After trying for a few more minutes and realizing he really did need Alex's help he looked over and saw her looking. "Hey, Allie?" She smiled. "Can you help me with my tie?" She giggled and he thought he heard angels singing. She nodded getting up to help him. Once her head turned and her face was in his direct view, his breath was taken away. She was gorgeous. She wasn't wearing any makeup and he couldn't help but stare. He watched her as she slowly knotted his tie and left it a bit loose for him to tighten it himself. She looked up at him through her long lashes. He stood admiring her. His hands slowly raised from his sides to frame her face as he went in for a soft and gentle kiss._

Nate snapped out of his reverie, "We need to get you a new makeup station." Confusion crossed Alexis' face but it soon disappeared as she finished her makeup and stood to signify she was finished getting ready. Nate was still struggling with his tie. It was a brand new black tie that Alex had left for him when she left. She made the knot in the tie for him already and set it on the bed. Alexis had borrowed it the other night and she took out the knot when she took it off. Nate fumbled a few more times before looking at Alexis.

"What?"

Nate stood for a second not wanting to emasculate himself but decided it would be manlier if he knew when to ask a woman for help. "Can you tie this for me?" He lifted the two ends of the tie to show her what he was talking about.

Alexis scoffed, "No, Nate. You're a man. You're supposed to know how to do that stuff. I'm a woman and I don't know how to do that." She looked at Nate with an incredulous expression, "Besides, you tied it the first time. Why can't you do it again?"

Nate sighed and mumbled under his breath, "Because the first time wasn't me." Nate threw the tie aside and decided to go without one tonight. Louder than his last comment, "Ready to go?" Alexis nodded and she clung to his arm as the walked out to the car where she waited for him to open the door for her and give out a hand to help balance her to get in the car. Nate rolled his eyes but hurried to his side.

* * *

For the past few days, Nate and Alexis had been expanding their horizons of things they did together. Besides having the "gang" over, drinking, getting high, or rolling around in bed, they actually went out. Today, Nate was taking Alexis out to a coffee shop. "Are you excited?" Nate asked from the driver's seat.

"No." Alexis twirled a piece of her hair in between two fingers. "Why would I be excited, Nate? It's a stupid coffee shop. There's nothing to be excited about." Nate quieted down and couldn't grasp why he was so excited to go to this particular coffee shop in the first place.

Once they got close to the coffee shop, Nate parallel parked on the side of the street. They got out and walked into the coffee shop. One paparazzo had followed them from their house and more started trickling into the crowd outside the coffee shop. After ordering, Nate and Alexis took a seat to wait for their coffee. "Nate, why did you even take me here anyways. You know I like that coffee shop we went to that day you dropped somebody off at the airport." He nodded his head but didn't respond with a vocal response.

"Ehh, Nate!" Somebody who just came into the coffee shop called Nate's name. He spun around recognizing the voice. The man that called his name was an old friend.

"Lucas Cahill." Nate smiled and stood up. Once Lucas was in a close enough vicinity, they did the guy handshake/hug greeting. "How are you, man?" Nate and Lucas pulled away.

"I'm great! How's Allie?" Lucas, Nate, and Alex use to be friends before they were neighbors; but then, Lucas moved away to England to be in an Andrew Lloyd Webber play. Nate's smile fell a bit.

"Umm, I don't know." It was a bit awkward at that moment. Nate stood in an awkward position unsure of what else to say and Lucas stood waiting for the punchline.

"So, no Allie today then?" Nate shook his head. "This use to be her favorite coffee shop." And then it clicked in Nate's mind. The reason why he liked this coffee shop so much. Him and Alex loved going to this place before everything in their life got crazy because the paparazzi hadn't known to stake this place out yet.

"Right. Well, this is my girlfriend, Alexis." Nate moved aside and made a sweeping motion toward Alexis. Lucas was stunned at first but pulled himself together.

"Hi, I'm Lucas." He stuck his hand out to Alexis which she graciously took and smiled politely. He took his hand back from her grasp and cleared his throat. "Listen, I'm going to place my order."

Just as Lucas finished, the barista called out Nate and Alexis' order. Alexis perked up, "Looks like I can walk you over to the line." She smiled her best notice-me smile and popped up to follow him over to the counter. Nate took a seat and watched Alexis with Lucas. Lucas ordered his drink and decided to wait at the counter for his drink. Alexis stood and waited for him. From where Nate sat, he could see that she was trying to start a conversation with Lucas. It made Nate wonder if Alexis already knew Lucas. When Nate introduced Lucas to Alexis, it didn't seem like Lucas knew Alexis.

They came back to the table. Lucas took a seat and Alexis scooted her chair closer to Lucas. Lucas scooted over toward Nate probably without thinking. "So Nate, where's Allie? I haven't seen her in awhile. I think it'd be nice to see her." Lucas took a sip of his coffee.

"Allie's in Cali now."

"Y'know, I should've guessed. She always wanted to go out to California." Nate made a questioning face, "Yeah, she use to always talk about going to California. Way back when... She said that that's where people go to become stars; but of course, you and her got married and she ended up staying here."

Nate shook his head, "She lives there now."

Lucas put down his cup and asked not believing Nate, "Really." It took a few seconds for Lucas to recover. "I'm going to have to visit her then." Nate did not want Lucas to go visit Alex. He looked over at Alexis and she looked completely engrossed in everything Lucas had to say. "Listen, Nate. We need to catch up, man. It's been too long. I've got to go; but, it was nice meeting you Al..."

Alexis piped up, "Alexis!"

"Right, Alexis, and Nate, you don't mind if I start talking to Allie right?" Lucas had been getting up as he asked and he looked at Nate waiting for an answer. Nate waited for a bit and both Lucas and Alexis could tell that Nate was about to say 'yes' but Alexis kicked Nate under the table and gave him a dirty look.

"No, go for it."

**xoxo**

**Oooooooooo :) Lucas Cahill! Tell me what you think? Yay! Nay! Lalex?**

**For the lovely readers who don't want to read review replies to reviewers without an account, skip over the next part and read where the bold picks back up.**

1234 your review reply will be on my profile.

to Nalexlvr: I'm going to guess that you are UGotStyle? Anyways, I think I've told you about how I'm not exactly sure how to answer your question. If not then that's ok too :) To answer your question, I'm not exactly sure how long it's going to be or when it ends. From what I had, it was supposed to end in 25 chapters but now that I've gotten more requests to add to the story that were very helpful criticism, I can only say that this story is going to be longer than 25 chapters. I know I did a whole poll over how long this story should be but that was before new stuff came up and I decided to change up the story. Back to the ifs again but if you are UGotStyle, can we go back to asking for the chapter within 4 to 5 days rather than 2? Thanks for reading and liking my story!

**I think I'm going to have to set a schedule of when I update my story from now on. It will be like a way to remind myself when I need to release another chapter. Also, this way the readers without accounts will just know that when it's a certain day, a chapter will be out or won't be out depending on whether or not I post or not. **

**Oh and I might not be done with this chapter after all. I feel like I'm missing something.  
**


	24. Chapter 24

Shane threw all his clothes from Mitchie's closet onto the bed. "Mitchie, where are my boots." Mitchie was sitting in the living room of her apartment with Alexis. She excused herself and entered her room.

Surprise and confusion washed over her face, "What are you doing, Shane?" She paused but ran over to his bag and started pulling things out of it and putting it back in her closet frantically.

"Stop, Mitchie." Shane had his hands balled into fists around his shirts that he'd been grabbing off of hangers. "Mitchie." He followed her taking whatever she put back into the closet and bringing it back to his bag. "Mitchie, stop!" He grabbed her shoulders so that she was square with him. "I'm packing. Whatever you think you're accomplishing, you're not; so, stop. I don't want to play games with you, Mitchie. In fact, it's almost the exact opposite." Shane let go and began to walk back to the closet before Mitchie grabbed him by the wrist.

"Where are you going, Shane? This is you're second home." Though confusion was still evident, sadness began to creep into her words.

He looked her straight in the eye as he said seriously, "This is not my home. It will never be my home." He pulled his arm away and kept with his previous activities.

"Fine!" Mitchie became angry. "You don't think this is your home? You want to get out of here so quickly? Fine." She started helping him with his bags. Alexis walked into the room with wide eyes.

"What is going on in here?" Mitchie stopped in her tracks and looked at Shane and then Alexis. Alexis had her eyes on Shane who didn't seem to hear a word she had said.

Mitchie grabbed a light jacket and started toward Alexis, "Let's go out."

* * *

Mitchie and Alexis entered a night club using their reputations as their entry fee and their pass to get in without standing in line. They found themselves a spot to sit along the walls of the club. Almost instantly, a waitress brought over two drinks to the girls courtesy of the two men at the bar. There were so many men at the bar that Alexis and Mitchie shrugged it off and accepted the drinks anyway. Alexis was nervously tapping her finger on her glass while Mitchie distractedly scanned the area. Finally, Alexis leaned in closer to Mitchie and spilled what was on her mind.

"Hey, Mitch. Do you know who Lucas Cahill is?" At the mention of that name, Mitchie's eyes slowly came back to focus and locked onto Alexis'. She nodded but didn't give an explanation. Alexis gave her a look as if saying 'elaborate.' Instead, Mitchie got up and walked to the crowd and started to sensually move her body. Alexis rolled her eyes but followed Mitchie's lead. Bodies of all kinds of people were rubbing up against the girls and they rubbed their bodies all up on other people. By the end of the night they were sweaty and really dirty. While they waited for a taxi, Alexis started up conversation again, "Mitch, you never told me about Lucas Cahill."

Mitchie crossed her arms across her chest, "What do you want to know about him?"

Alexis shrugged, "For starters, who is he?"

Mitchie sighed impatiently, "He's just some guy who use to be really good friends with Allie and Nate."

Alexis' stared at Mitchie with an even more impatient expression. "Yeah, okay. What else can you tell me?" Mitchie threw her hands up in the air and let them fall back down in a huff. "Why can't you just tell me, Mitchie? I don't understand why you're getting so upset over me asking you about somebody. Sorry for being curious. It's just that I know a lot of people; but, I don't know Lucas Cahill, and Nate's out with him tonight. I'd like to know who my boyfriend is out with. You don't have to be such a jerk. If you didn't want to tell me than you should've said so instead of acting like a spoiled brat."

Mitchie's mouth slightly hung open and her tongue was pressed on the back of her bottom teeth jutting out her bottom jaw. She tried to keep herself from blowing up at Alexis in front of the entire crowd waiting on the sidewalk. She counted to ten and fortunately, a taxi showed up at the same time. Both girls were extremely quiet creating a tense atmosphere around them. After the taxi driver started driving, Mitchie turned to Alexis and began to speak to her back, "First of all, I'm not a spoiled brat, whore. Second, you can't be so rude to me especially since I'm your friend. If you want to know, then ask me nicely!" Mitchie leaned back into her chair until she thought of something else to say, she tilted herself forward, "I can't believe how selfish you are. I'm having a bad night as it is. I freaking fought with my boyfriend because he's leaving me! He's leaving me because of you, Alexis." Mitchie started raising her voice.

Before Mitchie could say anything else, Alexis jumped in trying to defend herself. She turned to face Mitchie, "Woah, just because you're love life is doomed, don't blame it on me. He's obviously tired of you so that's why he's moving on. Stop being such a freaking slut and maybe you'll notice that Shane doesn't like hoes, bitch."

Mitchie stayed quiet for a second; but only for a second until she jumped at Alexis and started pulling her hair. Alexis tried to defend herself by pushing Mitchie off but to no avail. So she started to flail her arms around hoping to hit Mitchie in the face or something. Alexis then thought of something better. She began to kick Mitchie with her high heeled shoes. Both were screaming and fussing.

The taxi driver started yelling, "Hey! You two in the back seat! Stop it right now! You freaking crazy drunk teenagers. Always getting in the back of my taxi." He pulled over, "Get out! Get out right now. I'll call the police. And don't forget to tip me." Both the girls were too wrapped up in their activities. They were both trying to throw punches, back-hands, kicking, biting, anything.

Then they heard police sirens.

* * *

A few hours later, Nate and Shane showed up to bail out their girlfriends. As they were walking out of the police department, Alexis clung to Nate's arm and tried to ingratiate herself with him by pushing the blame away from herself but not exactly on Mitchie. Mitchie on the other hand walked close by Shane but she could feel the cold radiating off of him. As the two couples split up, Mitchie suddenly felt like she had to say something to Shane, "Don't you dare judge me, Shane Adam Gray." His eyes were focused on the sidewalk ahead of them. He was wrapped in a zip up hoodie and loose fitting jeans. His hood was pulled up over his head and his hands in his hoodie pockets. Mitchie was a mess with her hair frizzy and tousled from the hair pulling, her outfit crinkled from the excessive movement, her make up smeared from the hand contact to her face, and her heels in her hands.

"How could I _ever _judge you, my dear?" The sarcasm oozed from his words and she hated every single syllable that fell from his lips.

She stopped mid stride and spoke directly at him, "So, what? You think I am some kind of criminal?"

He kept walking slowly, "I didn't say that; but, I did just bail you out from jail."

Her dainty finger pointed up at him, "Hey! I'm talking to you!"

He stopped and spun around to talk to her, "What are you doing, Mitchie? Just look at yourself. You're a mess." His words paused and he almost looked pained to admit that, "This is not you."

* * *

A few days had passed since the fiasco in the taxi cab. Nate had loosened up around Alexis and seemed to have pushed most of it away. He was sitting at the kitchen table with a full ash tray nearby. He stared at it in disgust. One of Alexis' friends had left it there. He couldn't remember who; those nights were quite hazy to him. The house was relatively quiet besides the hum of appliances and the ticking of the analog clock hanging on the wall. He took a look at it and realized that even though the day had begun a few hours ago, Alexis would not be up until lunch time even then it would be a late lunch. He glanced around the kitchen remembering the times he had in this particular area of the house. The one memory that stood out the most was that night Alex had thrown dishes on the floor and left him to clean up the broken glass. Nate closed his eyes almost as if trying to wash the memory from his mind. His efforts were cut short by a ring of his cell phone. He picked up casually not expecting any important calls.

"Nate, this is Mac." Mac was Nate's PR guy. By the tone of his voice, Nate knew this couldn't be good. "We need to do some major spin control. I know I'm not freakin Alexis Texas' publicist but somebody's got to do it for her. Seeing as she's attached to you, my client, and her recent activities including the slammer, I thought I'd do a little string pulling for her though I'm not getting paid for this. In the long run, I see this as a benefit for your public relationship with Alexis. In the short run, I see this as a raise for me." Mac paused a bit; Nate figured it was so that Mac could take a sip of coffee—signature Mac ever since he stopped smoking cigars. "Ehh, who am I kidding, Nate? Both of those pluses are in the short run. Nothing is going to make your relationship with Alexis look any better than what it is. By the way, you two little prolific bunnies need to stop trying to get it on in the middle of restaurants, in alley ways, in clubs. I'm sick of paying off dirty gossip magazines for them not to publish those pictures. One of these days, Nate, my little fund for paying those paps off will run dry and nobody will protect the public from seeing nasty pictures of their beloved stars on the cover of those stupid magazines they sell on the side of the check out line at supermarkets."

Nate took a quick deep breath, "Thanks, Mac. I really appreciate your hard work."

"Don't give me any attitude. Just remember who's working his tail off to make sure your divorce and your affair with little miss Alexis Texas are being kept on the down low."

Nate was getting extremely tired of working with Mac. Mac was born and raised in California; yet, somehow he picked up a mix of an Italian accent and New Yorker accent when he began working in New York. That was one of the main reasons why Nate loved having Alex's publicist as another resource; her publicist seemed less fake. Despite the fact that Mac could be a little overbearing at times, Nate knew Mac for a long time and Mac was one of the best in the business. "Alright, I know, Mac. I'm sorry."

Nate allowed Mac to rant a little more but something caught Nate's attention and began to actually listen. "I know I said that I've been paying off dirty mags to keep you off their cover, but I just couldn't out-pay this one guy and it'll be published in a national publication. And, there's going to be an unauthorized biopic about you releasing on a little indie channel. We get to see the uncut version of it and give our say. This means that if we choose to buy the rights to their project than they will hand it over and whatever is in that segment will no longer be scheduled to be available to the public. Another thing before we get to whatever it is you want to say, I'll be sending you several magazines that you headlined. None of those headlines have anything to do with your career. Do you understand what I am saying?" Mac paused for the information to sink in. "Good. My assistant is on the way over to you so make sure you're home when she gets to you. Alright now, what do you want to say because I know you got something to say."

"Nope, nothing, Mac." There was a slight timid knock at the front door. "I think your assistant just got here. I'll talk to you soon." Nate hung up before Mac could say 'goodbye'. He ran to the door and opened it. He gave a knee-weakening smile before he let her in. She dropped a few of the magazines on the wooden floor before she knelt down nervously and apologized profusely. She was struggling to pick up all of the magazines and get up gracefully in her nude pumps and tight black pencil skirt. Nate helped her and grabbed the bulk of the magazines. "Do you want something to drink? Coffee? Water? Orange juice?" She shook her head once and followed him into the kitchen. "Here take a seat." After setting down the magazines in front of a chair he wanted to sit on, he pulled out a chair for her that was beside his. He took the magazine on top and read the headline: NATE BETRAYING ALEX. His picture took up the majority of the cover and a little picture of Alex was off to the side. Nate dropped that mag and picked up another from the stack. The headline read: THROUGH THE EYES OF A CHEATER. Again, the headline went with a ginormous picture of his head. Nate scrambled through a few more, and he was shocked. "What is all of this?"

The assistant looked up from the magazines and into Nate's eyes; she hadn't said a word since he opened the door. "Those are this week's gossip magazines."

Nate was astonished, "Just this week? But there are so many." She nodded.

"You can imagine how much of a fortune is spent to buy all of them to bring to you." He looked at her incredulously.

"You bought all of these magazines to bring over to me." She nodded her head again but didn't say anything else about the matter.

"Mac would like us to go through these magazines. He would've been here himself instead of me but he didn't want to get caught in the morning traffic." The manner in which she spoke was quiet and delicate. There was no mistaking that she was a gentle person. "Right, so let's start with the first magazine and we'll go from there, I suppose."

Nate shook his head in disbelief, "What is there to say? What's the point of me going through these? These magazines are libelous. They're nothing but lies."

The assistant tucked some loose hair from around her face behind her ear, "If I'm not mistaken, Mac doesn't entirely believe that those magazines are false. He'd like to know which ones are blatant lies and which ones are close to being true." Nate remained quiet and focused his attention on her silently asking her to continue. "Mac's plan is to sue if that's what you want or at least release a statement saying that the rumors are false. He'd also like you to go through all of them to see what you're actions are appearing like to the public."

Annoyance and anger rose in Nate. His voice became louder and louder, "I can't believe this. I'm not some little kid. Mac can't give me a lesson. I'm an adult and will do whatever I like. You tell him that." She looked at him with saucer eyes.

"Pardon me for saying so; but, I don't work for you. I don't believe that we're acquainted well enough that you can speak to me so." Her voice was level and calm; yet, her point came across clearly. Nate was taken aback. He couldn't believe this girl's audacity. "If you don't mind, I'd like to continue on with the task that I came here for so that I may leave."

**xoxo**

**Jail? Never thought Mitchie or Alexis would end up there even if it was for a few hours.**

**For the readers who don't want to read the review replies to reviewers without an account, please skip over the next unbolded text and then read where the text is bolded.**

to 1234 your review reply will be on my profile.

to Ashleigh: I don't exactly want to say 'no' to Lucas Cahill being Lucas Till. I definitely had that kind of guy breed in mind haha. That sounds so weird. What I meant was, I had somebody like Lucas Till in mind when I wrote Lucas Cahill; but, I didn't have a specific pretty boy in mind. But, please do continue thinking of him as Lucas Till if it makes you like him more :)

to Sahana aka Nalexlvr and UGotStyle and OreopeanutButter5: Haha that's okay that you forgot that you were UGotStyle! I forget somethings too. Anyway, thank you so very much for loving my story. The last chapter was a bit shorter because I rushed to update it; but then again, this chapter is also shorter. I think the chapters after this are going to be shorter too. Thank you for the suggestion of the car accident. I thought about it and I know I said that I try to include every suggestion I get; but, I don't think I can fit this one in. Also, in my other story _You Are the One For Me_ which you've read, there was a car accident in that story and I shy away from having the same elements in my stories. I just don't want to be extremely redundant or a one trick pony. So, I hope you understand and I'm sorry that I will not be including a car accident in this story, as of now. I don't know; maybe sometimes in the future of this story, I'll change my mind. to your review of _You Are the One for Me_, that's perfectly okay with me if you don't like the ending; but, thank you for enjoying the rest of the story. Did you read _A Brand New Experience_? _You Are the One for Me_ is the sequel to that story. I don't quite remember how it all ended; but, I think that the way I left it was the best way for me because it allowed for some closure of the characters yet room for them to grow. I think the reason was because I had a threequel for the series in mind; but, there was a lost in interest of the story and at the time that I was writing it, nobody was showing interest in a continuation. I also felt like it was time to break out of the realm of that story especially since I had already written the majority of _The Married Life_ by the time the last chapter of _You Are the One for Me_ was posted. Sorry for the long message but I think this is what you were looking for.

to PeanutButterOreo: Thanks for the reassurance!

to ThisIsMeAndMyPEANUTBUTTER: Thank you for loving my story and spreading the word about my story! It is greatly appreciated and I hope I don't disappoint in future chapters.

Excuse me if I'm wrong, but are all of the reviewers with Peanut Butter related names Sahana?

to Laura!: Thanks for the encouragement! And, I think I will be picking an update day, perhaps. I don't know; sometimes, I'm noncommittal.

to : I'm writing this review reply back to you and I hope you know it's to you because you didn't leave a name; but, I have updated and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Pheww, that was a lot. Sorry for those who waded through all of the messages. I guess if you read them, then you get a little more than the person who didn't. I've recently spotted this and I just wanted your opinion on something. Don't you think it's weird when other people impersonate other reviewers? Also, what do you guys think about me getting a blog? I'm thinking of putting all of the review replies there instead of having them attached to the chapters. It'll be a place for me to have information about _The Married Life_ or whatever I'm working on and having little sneak peeks. It's kind of also a place for me to be me with you guys. Tell me what you think :)**


	25. Chapter 25

Alex sat on her balcony overlooking the pool in her backyard. The sun was bright and the sky was blue. She definitely just wanted to enjoy the day, it was her day off anyways. Her phone vibrated next to her. She sighed but what could she have expected? She was the famous Alex Gray...back to Russo. The text was from Newt her co-star on her sitcom.

_hey dominic went on vacay. won't be back until next week. we don't need to be in studio this week._

Dominic was the director of their sitcom. Alex felt relieved that he was gone. This way she could just relax around the house for a week. When she moved to California, it was the perfect time because the sitcom had already been moved down to California. She and Newt were still shooting certain scenes in New York due to their schedules and having to tie up loose ends.

_thanks newt. break for a week! see you soon :) allie_

Her and Newt were good co-workers but they weren't like attached at the hip just yet. But the way things were going and the patterns of how Alex normally bonds with her cast mates, she knew it wouldn't be long before she and Newt were going to be best buds. It always happened with no fail. Newt and her had talked about it before but Newt had said that his girlfriend was a little wary of him and Alex working together. His girlfriend was a jealous significant other. When he said that, Alex had laughed because honestly, she had a husband then and she's more classy than that.

Alex was preparing lunch for herself, a cool salad with lettuce, avocados and raspberry vinaigrette poured on top. She thought today was going to be a pretty chill day but then her phone rang with 'Lovebug' playing. She made a mental note to change that because it was Nate's special ringtone. She put down the bottle of vinaigrette and licked her finger before picking up her phone. "Hello?"

"Alex!" His voice sounded rushed and worried yet relieved. "Oh thank goodness." Alex's face twisted. What in the world?

"What is it Nate?" She tried to sound calm but she was honestly starting to worry with him. "What's wrong?"

"No. It's nothing. I just wanted to make sure it's you." Alex was honestly confused now. If it wasn't her, who else would it be?

"Okay, Nate, you're really starting to worry me now. Did you have too much to drink or something? It's not even..." Alex did some mental math to think of what time it was on the east coast, "four there yet."

Nate just chuckled, "No, Allie, I don't get drunk before four. It's not classy. Anyways, just wanted to make sure you were okay." He began to sound nonchalant but his facade really wasn't working. She could hear his worry-filled voice ringing through her ear piece not his soothing voice. And then he blurted out, "It would be nice sometime if you actually came to visit."

Alex's eyes grew wide. What was Nate talking about? "I don't need to, right? You've got company and I've got my business to do down here. It's just not the right time for me or anything like that."

"Why does it always have to be about you!" Nate was definitely on something. "Shane went to go visit you! You didn't even come to visit us! Someone attacked you and nearly took you and you didn't even call me! What the is your problem, Alex! I'm worried sick over here for you just waiting to hear that you're okay and you don't even say a word. The press are going crazy by the way. I don't know if you've had that problem yet. I don't even know that you care to look at the tabloids with us on the front page anymore."

Nate was right, she didn't check the tabloids anymore. She knew it was going to be like going on Facebook and seeing everybody else live their lives when she just sat at home wasting her's. She also didn't want to see all of Nate's and Alexis's documented moves with all of the pictures of them together and stuff. "Shane came to visit me because he wanted to check on me. He came to see me. Out of his busy schedule, he came to see me. All you can do is pick up a damn phone. By the way, it's never just about me. You don't have anything to worry about and I don't have to check back with you ever! I'm not yours anymore. We live completely separate lives!" Alex took a breath. "Why are the press going crazy?"

Nate was hesitant, "Okay, okay. Me and Alexis have been doing more than just making out in public..." Nate didn't care to go on about that subject. Alex was just going to have to find out on her own. "Well, anyways. I called Preston. He said you were a total bitch to him and that he refused to work with us because of you."

"Oh god." Alex hardly ever said the Lord's name in vain but it just seemed fitting at that moment. "Nate, please. It was a complete misunderstanding. If you ask Shane, he'll tell you why Preston thinks I'm a total weirdo and then everything's explained. I'm also certain he didn't call me a 'total bitch'."

"He was your attacker wasn't he?" Nate said it dead seriously. His voice conveyed that he meant business. "Allie, I'm firing him." Alex had the urge to say 'no duh' but she fought it. It seemed like a given that he already be fired but it seemed that Nate didn't get the clue. "Allie, look I'm sorry. I'm a total jerk. Are you okay? Did he hurt you or something? Should I file a report?"

Alex just wanted Nate there with her. Even if he was being a complete and total d bag, he was supposed to be her d bag. "No, Nate. I'm not a victim of rape or assault. I can handle it." She had called Preston and they had sorted it out. After talking to Preston, it was clear that he never meant malicious harm. From their dinner, he thought he got signals that she wanted to "get laid". Alex surely didn't. Her perception of the event was completely skewed. She was embarrassed for her mistake of seeing it the way she did; but, it was the past. She just pushed it behind her and said it wouldn't ever happen again.

"I called Alexis' lawyer and I already got the papers signed. They'll get to you in a few days time." Alex nodded even though she knew Nate couldn't see her. "I'm a weak person, Allie. I need someone there for me too sometimes. Just give me a call if you need me." And with that, he hung up.

Well that's just great. Nate just ruined her happy day.

**xoxo**

**Sorry for holding this chapter back for so long. I was busy for the majority of the week and then I felt like there was something missing from this chapter. I couldn't put my finger on it. I still can't put my finger on it but I figured it's been too long since I last updated. So, thanks to those who have waited.**

**Review Replies (if I haven't sent you one) :**

to 1234: Your review replies will be on my profile. It's just going to take me some time. I don't know when I'll be able to get it up.

to Nalexlvr: Your review replies will also be on my profile.

to Cookie: I don't know if you're at this chapter yet; but, I'm glad you found that part funny :)

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'm hoping to get another chapter up sometime this week but don't hold me to it! I promise I'll post it before a month has passed. In the mean time, tell me what you thought about this chapter :)**


	26. Chapter 26

_allie, we have some promoting to do. i'll pick you up at 7_

Alex got the text from Newt and she knew she had little time to get ready. It was the premiere of the next installment of the lame Hannah Montana movie series. But she knew she had to feign happiness. Ms. Hannah Montana aka her husband stealer, ran in the same circle as her. Which meant that she'd see the star of the night and her husband. The divorce papers never came or they got lost in the mail and Alex had shrugged it off sending a text to Nate a week ago letting him know that the papers never came and to send another set. Of course he acted all angry. But when didn't he act angry towards her now?

Tonight, Newt said he'd be Alex's date since Alex didn't have anybody to go with. Alex predicted correctly, Newt and her were pretty close now. She didn't spill her deep, dark secrets to him but they definitely had a connection. The tabloids had criticized their relationship because Alex and Nate were still married but Alex was already 'moving on'. It was totally hypocritical because everybody else swooned over Nate and Alexis' relationship. Not only that but Alex and Newt's relationship was just strictly platonic. It wasn't ever like they had a fling or a romantic connection. His girlfriend didn't like it too much so she broke up with him.

Alex saw it as a blessing for Newt. The girl was just so much bad energy all of the time. She only dated Newt for half a year and already she was dictating his every move. Alex slipped on a BCBGMaxAzria dress quickly and grabbed a clutch. She wasn't one for much of a fuss over clothing if she already liked the dress. She quickly did her makeup. It wasn't anything too fancy but she knew she looked good. The door bell rang and Newt came up to her room. He always rang before he came in but Alex always left the door unlocked if she knew he was coming. But it didn't even matter because she gave him a key one night to pick something up when she'd already be asleep. She trusted him that much.

"Hey gorgeous." He bent down and gave her a kiss on her cheek like he always did. But he pulled back and had a bit of blush on his chin from accidentally nudging her. She giggled and wiped it off for him. "Oh gosh, sorry did I ruin your makeup?" He genuinely asked.

She giggled again, "No. It doesn't matter anyways, blush isn't that big of a deal." Alex stood up and pulled down her dress. "C'mon let's go. We're going to be late if we don't." They interlocked arms and went out to Newt's sports car.

When they were on the road, Newt had the top down. He had forgotten that today Alex had done her hair for the event. Alex was struggling to keep her hair in perfect form until Newt noticed and sheepishly smiled while closing the top. She smiled but waved it off. It wasn't a big deal to her. When they got to the event, Newt left the keys to valet and he led Alex to the carpet. He knew that they would be posing together but they would try to make it to as many different media stations as possible to promote their sitcom. Alex wrapped her tiny fingers around his forearm and posed next to him with a sweet smile. Occasionally, she would look up at him and he would return the gaze. They looked like a couple. To the both of them though, they knew that they didn't actually think the same thing as everybody else. In each others eyes, they were just really good friends.

Both of them split to go talk to different interviewers. Alex went to E!'s Ryan Seacrest, "So, Alex, are you and Newt Livingston dating? It's kind of obvious that you guys seem perfect together."

Alex giggled, "Aww, Ryan, that's sweet but I'm sure Newt already has the heart of many girls and doesn't need mine. Besides, what happened to us, Ryan? We're supposed to be together."

Ryan smiled but nixed the idea, "As much as I'd like to be yours, you're just too young. It'd be weird. You'd be like the gold digger even though you make more than me."

Alex didn't want to stand there awkwardly but Ryan's comment really didn't hit a giggly chord inside of her. Nevertheless, she smiled and said her goodbyes before getting back on the carpet to get to her next interview. "Hi, Alex!" A correspondent for TMZ pulled Alex off of the carpet.

Alex cordially smiled and waited for the interviewer to continue, "So, Nate's recently been pictured by TMZ with Miss Alexis Texas all over New York City, especially at your mansion that you share with Nate." Alex looked down but listened attentively with half a smile on her face. "What's going on between you and Nate?"

Alex shrugged. She didn't know what to say, "Um, y'know life passes us by. Sometimes, it goes by faster than we thought it did and we miss those chances to live in." Alex shrugged again and shook her head. It was almost as if she was saying, 'That's the best I can give right now.' "But, me and Newt Livingston are filming our second season of _It Takes Two_. You guys should definitely check it out. It's got extremely hilarious scenes in it." Alex quickly said her goodbyes before they could ask anything more about Nate and Alexis.

Next Alex was pulled in by Nancy O'Donnell, "Hi, Nancy! How are you? How's the baby?"

Nancy smiled wide, "I'm doing well; the baby's great. Thank you for remembering! We loved that gift that you sent. It was so darling." Alex smiled. "So, Alex. We want to just clear some things up before I continue." Alex nodded. "You and Newt? Nothing's going on right?"

Alex shook her head, "I get this weird feeling every time somebody asks me if me and Newt are dating. It's like when someone mistakes your brother for your boyfriend. It's disturbing."

"You and Nate?"

Alex smiled, "My love life must be the hot topic of the moment or something. I've been asked about it several times already. The TMZ reporter gave me details and every thing that I had no idea about. It's pretty interesting stuff that's going on in the world these days." Alex felt like she successfully skirted around the question while still giving an answer that seemed plausible.

But Nancy was persistent. "You and Nate, Alex? What's going on with you two?"

Alex's smile fell just a bit, "Me and Nate are friends just like we always were. I love him just as I did before. There's nothing different in the way that I feel for him." Alex thought that sounded good enough but Nancy was not satisfied, Alex could tell. "Nancy, why does everybody keep asking me these questions and acting like they must know more about me than I know myself and then giving me the pity look?"

Nancy gave her that pity look and pursed her lips. Alex's hands fell from in front of her to her sides as she looked in the same direction as Nancy and saw what she was looking at. Nate had his arm slung around Alexis' waist and Alexis' arms were wrapped around Nate's torso. How awkward? Alex quickly got back on the carpet and Newt found her immediately after. "Alex, I just saw Nate and Alexis..." Alex nodded. "They're coming right now..." Alex didn't want to make it look obvious. She linked her arm with Newt's and pulled him to the next interviewer. If she seemed busy, then for sure they wouldn't bother her.

After their interview, Newt's hand slid to the small of Alex's back to lead her back to the carpet where Nate and Alexis seemed to be waiting for them. Alex slowed down but Newt pushed her forward. "Hey, Nate, Alexis." Alex waved awkwardly. Newt said 'hi' to Alexis and nodded his head toward Nate. "What are you guys doing in California?" Alex desperately tried not to sound frazzled.

Alexis grabbed Nate's hand when he began to answer, "Alexis has a new drama coming out so she's doing some promoting. This is her event and I'm her date." She felt so stupid for asking that question when she already knew the answer. They were attending an event for Alexis' series after all. Alex nodded her head. What else was she supposed to do? "What are you guys doing here? Is Newt your date tonight, Allie?"

Alex didn't really think about it too hard but she noticed that Nate still called her Allie. That had to mean something was still the same. It was what he called her when he was completely in love with her. Her heart skipped a beat and her mouth went dry but all she could do was answer his question truthfully. "Me and Newt are promoting our second season. Yeah, Newt's my date tonight." At that moment, Newt had his hands loosely in his pockets beside Alex. They looked like they could pass as a couple but they were just best friends. Alex could sense what was running through Alexis' mind as her eyes studied Alex and Newt's body positions. Alex didn't feel the need to explain that they were just friends. Let Alexis think whatever it is that she wants.

* * *

Coincidentally, as they sat down, Nate and Alex had the seats next to each other. They didn't bother switching just because it'd be awkward and obvious that somebody was unhappy with the situation (especially Alexis). During the showing, from time to time, Nate had the tendency to lean over to Alex and say things that made them both giggle. Newt did the same with Alex. But nobody did it to Alexis. Nate was holding Alexis' hand but he was completely talking to Alex the entire time. It's not like he purposely did it. He subconsciously couldn't help it. As they were going out of the theater, Nate overheard Alex and Newt talking. "Yeah, that'd be great. D'you want to grab a bite at Friday's or something?" Newt relaxed his arm around Alex's shoulders.

"Yeah, sure. That sounds good. Do you want to go to the one close to here or the one close to your house?" Newt held the door open as Alex went through. Nate grabbed it quickly so he could continue listening with Alexis clumsily following behind in her heels.

"Umm, I'm actually kinda tired. D'you just want to go to my house and I'll order a pizza or something? We can watch movies in our jammies?" Alex smiled sheepishly. "We haven't done that in awhile." Alex grabbed onto Newt's blazer and pulled him closer. The California night breeze was catching up tonight. Newt pulled off his blazer and let it hang around Alex's bony shoulders. Her hands came up and pulled it tighter around her small frame. "Thank you." She said it sweetly and gave him a bump with her elbow. Newt let his hands fall into his pockets casually and he nodded his head.

"I don't know, Allie. A bunch of reporters already asked me if we were going out. I think we would just exacerbate the situation if I stayed over tonight." Newt shrugged. His tone of voice sounded stern but Alex could tell he really wanted to stay to have a movie night with her.

"You know what? Don't worry about it. We can have a movie afternoon next week or something. It doesn't have to be tonight." She shrugged too. She sounded nonchalant but she really didn't want Newt's decision to be affected by the reporters' questions.

Newt looked over at Alex and he could tell instantly that she wanted to spend the night with him. It's not that he didn't want to. It's that he knew Nate was listening. But, he reweighed his thoughts. Nate is her husband but Alex is his friend. Nate is just an acquaintance. "You know what, Allie, I change my mind. I think I will stay over tonight. That is if you still want me."

Alex smiled wide and walked straight into Newt's body. He opened his arm to her and she comfortably walked closely beside Newt as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. To everybody else, they were totally dating. Nate quickly caught up to them. "Hey guys! It's been so long. We should catch up tonight. Go grab a bite." Nate hoped that they wouldn't refuse.

Alex looked up at Newt, who already knew how she felt tired, but she knew that they'd only be in town for one night. As far as she's concerned, they were still friends and such. Alex looked over at Nate giving her response, "Yeah, sure. Where do you want to go?" Newt lightly squeezed her shoulder, knowing that it must've been hard for her to say yes after a long night.

Alexis was awfully quiet. It was quite evident that she didn't want to go. Nate suggested, "Let's go to that diner that you raved about so much, Allie." Alex saw Alexis jerk in the corner of her eye. She wasn't sure what that was about but yet again, Alex could tell Alexis did not want to be put in this situation.

Alex nodded and looked up at Newt. "Newt, he's talking about the one where we went to with Gemina." Gemina was Newt's ex-girlfriend. He nodded not even flinching at the mention of his ex.

"Alright-y then, let's get a move on. Nate where'd you park? You can just follow us there." Nate pointed in the direction and Newt pointed in his and they both arranged how it was going to work before parting ways.

As Alex was out of earshot, Nate leaned over to Alexis and told her quietly, "Did you see that? Newt didn't even take his arm off of her shoulders the entire time he talked to me. He gave her his blazer! Do you think they're dating?"

Alexis's eyes shot wide open, "Why does it matter, Nate? She can date who she wants when she wants."

Nate settled down a little. He could tell Alexis was not a happy camper. "Yeah, yeah. You're right. My bad."

* * *

When they got to the diner, Newt had given Alex a sweatshirt that he left in his car for her. They hung out a lot so he always left it there in case she was ever cold. It was a big college sweatshirt to Stanford and Alex didn't mind that it was way too big for her because it looked good on her. But, she was able to slip out of her dress while she was still in the sweatshirt. She grabbed a pair of her skinny jeans that she left in Newt's car the other day and a pair of his slippers. Alex always laughed at the fact that Newt liked to have a pair of house slippers in his car whenever he didn't feel like wearing his regular shoes. They met Alexis and Nate in the diner. Alex and Newt already got a table sitting next to each other.

Nate slid into the booth letting Alexis take the outside seat. "Hey guys. Allie you changed?"

Alex swiftly looked down at her outfit and back up at Nate, "Yeah. Newt let me borrow some stuff. It was kind of cold outside." Then, she shrugged.

They ate dinner (well a really late one) and they conversed like civilized people. By the end of the night, Alex was fighting to keep her eyelids open and she had her head rested on Newt's shoulder. Newt didn't mind too much. It was just like every day. But to Nate, he wasn't use to this. He was freaking out over it too but he was doing a great job hiding it. Newt looked down at her, "Hey, it's getting late. We should do this again sometime soon. Whenever you're back in town just give us a call." Alex slowly lifted her head off of Newt's shoulder and got out of the booth. She waited for Alexis to get out then she gave her a hug and then she gave Nate a hug goodbye. Nate felt tinglies all over. Alex drowsily went back to Newt and hugged his arm while resting her cheek against his arm too. She kind of looked like a tired little kid. Newt smiled at it. He thought it was cute. "Do you guys know your way back to your hotel okay?" Nate nodded and replied that he could just use the navigator.

They said their goodbyes and Nate watched Newt lead Alex out to his car as he heard Alex ask, "Can I just sleep over tonight? I'm really tired." Newt chuckled and said 'yeah.' The fire in Nate was bursting. He didn't like that she was sleeping over at Newt's house. He didn't like it at all.

Alexis pinched Nate's arm, "Nate! Jealousy looks bad on you except when it's over me." Alexis pushed pass Nate and got in the car first. She definitely wasn't happy.

**xoxo**

**So this chapter is extremely late... But next week, I should have some down time so I'll try to get everything sorted out for this story. I'm making no promises though because I don't know if I'll get bombarded with things to do like I have these past two weeks. I haven't gotten any review replies done yet, for that I apologize. But they will eventually go up, I promise! I guess I hadn't saved your response to my profile Nalexlvr, I apologize for telling you that it would be there and it wasn't. I still need to read through everyone's comments and reviews.**

**What did you guys think of this chapter? Did it make up for missed time? Or was it lacking like the last one? Also, what are your thoughts on Alex and Newt's relationship?  
**


	27. Chapter 27

Lucas Cahill had arrived in sunny California a few hours after lunch time. His mind was set on one thing—Alex. After getting the 'okay' from Nate awhile back, he spent some time debating whether or not he should actually try romancing Alex. He finally made his decision one night. He was supposed to be hanging out with Nate; but somehow, Alexis roped herself into the night's events.

_Lucas and Nate had planned to go to the bar downtown. Lucas never got the full story as to why Alexis had to come along; but, she did. He always tried to distance himself from Alexis. He could see her trying to seduce him. That night was no different. As soon as Nate went to go use the restroom, Alexis scooted impossibly closer to Lucas and began stroking his leg as she whispered in his ear, "Nate's gone for a little. Do you wanna have a little fun?" Lucas glanced in her direction and willed himself not to laugh at her attempt at sexy. "Tell me, Lucas." She laid her elbows on the table with her chin resting on her fists. "You're an old friend of Nate's?"_

_He began the tale with his laid back tone, "Me and Nate go way back. I met Allie the same night I met Nate at one of my gigs."_

_Alexis nodded her head but her eyes begged for more, "You're a musician, then?"_

_Lucas swayed his head back in forth thinking of a proper answer. "Kind of. I guess you could call me a dabbler in the arts." Alexis' eyes prodded him on. "That night I met Nate, I was a 'musician'. It was just for fun though. It was my friend's coffee shop and the act he booked for the night bailed. So, I filled in." A little smirk appeared on Alexis' face. The possible romantic futures she had with Lucas were running through her mind. "Anyway, yeah." He nodded his head while he fiddled with a pepper shaker on the table._

"_Wait..." Alexis sat up taller as she let the information she just received process. "You met Alex and Nate on the same night?" Lucas nodded his head again. "So... you know Alex?" Lucas once again nodded his head. "Well, do you still talk to her?" Before Lucas could give a definite answer, Alexis continued. "She's such a self-centered little..."_

"_Me and Allie use to be really close."_

"_...sweetheart!" Alexis forced a smile hoping that her statement was convincing. She giggled nervously, "Um, were Nate and Alex dating when you met them?"_

_Lucas chuckled a bit as he reminisced, "Actually, no. I had been talking to Alex before Nate had. Then, he swooped in and took her from me."_

_Alexis scrunched her nose in disgust, "First of all, I don't see why both of you would want Alex Russo. Secondly, someone seems a little bit bitter."_

_He shook his head and said nonchalantly, "It's really none of your business anyway." Bringing an amber-tinted bottle to his lips, Lucas signified the end of that particular conversation._

Stopping by his new apartment in busy L.A, Lucas had enough time to drop off his bags and tour his new abode. He hadn't been expecting much considering he wasn't the one to pick things out; but surprisingly, he was impressed with the interior decorations as well as the exterior decorations on the balcony. He made a mental note to send a bottle of fine wine to the interior decorator as well as his real estate agent. Lucas took another glance outside before checking his watch. Nodding to himself, he quickly made in exit in an attempt to be somewhat on time to his next destination.

Alex set down her gym bag in the locker room. Looking around, she saw other women walking around in towels or stark naked. She clung to her oversized mens' t-shirt and baggy athletic shorts after she stuffed her bag into the locker. Alex normally never went to "work-out," but Justin insisted she get out of the house and get some fresh air. This was definitely not fresh to her—smelling stinky sweaty people. She cautiously dodged the naked women of all different shapes and sizes and ages trying to make her way out to Justin who said he'd wait for her. Her sneakers squeaked on the floor after she walked through some pool-water puddles. By the time she got out, Justin was getting antsy. "Not to make a big deal out of this or anything but what took you so long!" Alex apologized profusely without explanation and proceeded on beside Justin. "Okay, there's an aerobics class going on today. It's the trial session just for today so it's free. You should try it out and see if you like it. It starts in five minutes. You can do that or you can spot me when I lift weights?"

Alex debated her choices, "I think I'll just go try out that aerobics class." Alex wandered down the open hallway for a bit. The sunlight shone down from the glass ceiling giving everything in the hallway an ethereal glow. Classrooms on either side of her were filled with people already in full work-out mode. She took a glance into one room and assumed that this was the class Justin had spoken about earlier. Scattered around the room, people were stretching and talking with each other. Alex looked around for quick reassurance and mimicked the stretches of the man on the other side of the room hoping he wouldn't see her glance over more than once. Touching her toes, she counted to ten before taking another look at the man she had been copying. She followed his movements as he straightened himself and then went back to touching his toes. Alex focused on her feet for a few seconds before she looked over to the man. To her surprise, a woman around the same age as her had moved into her line of vision startling her. The woman was also touching her toes as she looked at Alex with a smile.

"Hi, I'm Felicia." Her smile was as warm as her chestnut brown ringlets. "Is this your first time taking one of Zander's classes?" Alex's eyebrows knitted together. "Ahh, I'm guessing yes." Felicia giggled. Both girls stood back up, "It's okay! Zander's classes are amazing and fun at the same time. But, you'll be in for an even bigger treat today! One of Zander's friends is coming today to help lead the class while he's in California." Alex nodded and smiled. "You still look a little lost, but it's okay because you've got me and I'll help you out!" After another moment of silence and smiling stares, a man who Alex presumed to be Zander—a tall, built, African American man with a buzz cut—clapped his hands together. He towered over the women rushing to get the best spot in the room—right in front of Zander. Alex's eyes traced over the tops of the women's perfectly styled hair when a man with a body resembling a Grecian God caught her eye. The man was facing toward Zander so she didn't get a good glimpse of his face but he seemed oddly familiar. Felicia leaned over, "That's him. That's Zander's friend." Alex nodded yet she was still caught up on this man she still didn't know the identity of. Alex snapped out of her fixation and took a sweeping glance of the room—men in the back, women in the front. She internally giggled at how people situated themselves in the room. Felicia nudged Alex's arm, "We're starting now so get ready!"

Alex frowned but scooted away to prepare herself for some major sweating. She lifted her head to face forward and focus on the instructors. Instantly, a smile exploded onto her face. Another smile flew her way. All of the women in front of her turned back and gave her a dirty look. Felicia came closer, "Hey, did Zander's friend just smile at you?"

Zander's voice boomed through the room, "Welcome... to boot camp!" Alex mentally groaned. Boot camp meant more than just a light mist of sweat. It meant buckets soaking through her shirt and puddles of it on the ground. Perhaps she wouldn't even make it through the entire workout and she'd be on the ground in fits gasping for air. She was not one for workouts. She was blessed with a fast metabolism.

"If this is your first day, I don't expect you to keep up with us, but expect that I will push you to your limit. I won't cut you any slack... Alright! Let's get to the fun." Zander started moving and Alex immediately jumped into the flow of things. Seemingly easy, Alex was able to keep up. After ten minutes, Alex was huffing and the sweat was soaking through her oversized t-shirt. She paused for a second hoping nobody would notice. To her dismay, Zander was instantly right beside her harshly encouraging her to keep going. "Let's go, Gray! This is just the warm-up!" Alex started back up and tried her best. She glanced around and everybody else didn't even break a sweat yet. "Lucas," the man who smiled at Alex nodded in Zander's direction, "Keep an eye on this one." Lucas chuckled and lightly jogged over to Alex. Zander made his way back to the front of the room.

"How are you Allie?" Trying to make herself look more appealing, Alex mopped off the sweat on her forehead.

She swallowed trying to make her throat less dry, "I'm dying!"

About an hour later, Alex was dragging her feet to the women's locker room. Impossibly slow, she had a lot of time to think on her way. First of all, she decided that she would not be going to boot camp again. Second, she needed to kick Justin's butt for duping her into going to an infinitely harder class than he led on... well, she would kick his butt when she recovered from the soreness. Pulling her out of her thoughts, squeaky sneakers followed behind her. She didn't want to turn around but curiosity got the best of her. Felicia was right on her tail. "Hey, I never got your name earlier!"

Then another surprise, Lucas was walking in the same area. His long strides caused him to catch up with them unintentionally. "Her name's Alex." Felicia turned to Lucas with this minx-like smile. Alex didn't know she had it in her. From what she could tell, Felicia was an impossibly sweet girl with not a single sexy bone in her body. Lucas got the point, "My name's Lucas."

Introducing herself, "Felicia. It's a delight to meet you." Her drawl almost sickened Alex. Felicia turned back to Alex suddenly remembering why she followed Alex in the first place. They stopped in the middle of the hallway to finish the conversation, "I was wondering if you want to grab a drink with a few people from the class. Zander made it a tradition."

Alex scrunched her face into an incredulous expression, "That's a bit counterproductive isn't it?"

Felicia's ringlets bounced as she nodded her head in amusement, "It is but it's fun and I'm sure you'd have fun! I mean, I'm not saying 'get drunk.' Most of us do but you don't have to! Just come have a drink."

Alex looked to Lucas, "I assume you'll be there."

Lucas nodded cockily, "Yes, it'll be fun." Alex grinned before she turned around and tried to hurry her pace to the locker room. Once she was inside, the locker room was quiet with the exception of the incessant dripping of water from the shower heads. She squeaked inside to her locker and tugged at her bag. It flew out towards her and she swung it over her shoulder. The squeaking from her sneakers sounded so intrusive to the mostly quiet atmosphere. She tip-toed over to an empty shower stall and began preparing for a shower. The steam relaxed her muscles and the pelting water massaged her sore muscles. She stayed in the stall for a bit longer than necessary but when she finally urged herself out, she had a visitor.

Startled by her presence, Alex's step faltered a bit, "Hey, Alex!" Alex politely said 'Hello' back. Alex assumed that Felicia had just finished her shower also. Her ringlet curls were still intact but droplets of water ran down Felicia's arms which were holding a towel tight around her body. "Do you need a ride to the bar tonight? Or will you be okay finding you own way?"

Alex pulled her towel around herself a little bit tighter. "I think I'll be able to find my way. Thank you for the offer though!" Alex nodded awkwardly and they both headed towards the lockers to change. Once she was done, Alex waited for Justin in the lobby. She was people watching while looking out for her brother.

Zander passed and gave her a pat on the back as well as a head nod. He wore dark-washed jeans and a worn-out Philadelphia Eagles t-shirt. From his attire, Alex assumed that the bar they were going to was one where you could relax. Felicia passed by and gave her an eye-squinting smile with a little wave. Several other people were following. Lucas had been walking looking down at the ground but just as he was about to pass Alex, he lifted his head slowly and she caught his eye. With a lazy smile, Lucas stopped to talk, "Hey." Alex stood up and slapped his bare forearm. Alex couldn't help but admire Lucas' toned, tanned body dressed in a pure black short-sleeved v-neck and dark-washed jeans. He wore Adidas sneakers. Mentally, Alex was drooling.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming to LA?" Alex played upset for a second. "More importantly, why didn't you tell me you were back in the states!" Lucas shrugged but engulfed her in a hug. She was trying to reject his hug but eventually she gave up when his arms were around her. She hadn't been hugged like this by another man who wasn't her family in so long. Sure, she hugged Newt but he was her best friend. Sure, she hugged Justin and Max every now and then but they were her brothers. She remembered hugging Nate like this... but he wasn't as tall or muscular as Lucas. This felt good. She felt safe and warm and...

"I'm sorry." He looked down at her while still in the hug. "I don't know what I was thinking." She looked up at him and he couldn't help but appreciate the pretty little face that was looking back up at him. He had to admit that he had good looking friends. "Anyways," Lucas let go and pulled away. A part of Alex was disappointed he let go so soon, "I'll be seeing you at the bar? It's going to be my first time too so you should go make some friends with me." Alex giggled at his forwardness and nodded her head.

"I'll have to let Justin know. He took me here today... said something about me having to workout or else I'll turn into sack of lard."

Lucas chuckled, "Sounds like Justin." Just as Lucas finished, Justin came out into the lobby. Justin caught their attention by greeting Lucas with a 'Hey!' The boys did their man high-five/hug thing and once all small talk was put aside, Lucas claimed Alex for the night, "I'm taking Alex out tonight so you don't have to worry about her. I'll take her home." Lucas lightly laid his arm around Alex's slim shoulders as he led her to the door.

"Lucas!" Lucas turned around and saw Justin pointedly staring at him and Alex. "Please, keep your hands off my sister tonight." Both chuckled knowing that Justin made his request in a jovial manner. Justin and Lucas hit it off when they met. They become instant friends whereas Nate and Justin... not so much. It took time for Justin to get use to Nate even though Justin was an easy-going guy. _

Alex looked around the establishment. She loved the _Cheers_-like atmosphere—where everybody knows your name (as in everybody's friends). Alex opted to sit at a table with Lucas instead of sitting with Felicia and a few of the girls from class. "So, when'd you get back from Europe?"

Lucas finished taking a swig of beer before answering her question, "Not too long ago. I stopped by in New York before coming here." Alex and Lucas nodded. "So..."

"So..."

Lucas hesitantly and cautiously brought up the inevitable subject, "So, you and Nate are not together anymore."

Alex sighed, "I think it depends on how you put 'together' but yeah. He's seeing someone else now and I'm just moving on without him I suppose."

Again, Lucas nodded already expecting her answer to be just what she gave him. "The reason I bring it up is because I saw Nate and Alexis together and I needed to see if some sense needed to be knocked into an old friend or not." Alex nodded her head. "But anyways, did you enjoy the class?"

Alex chuckled, "Oh goodness. How can you enjoy a class where you're dying! And everyone else is doing perfectly fine?" Alex giggled again. "I think the best part, though, was seeing you. It truly made the class better." A soft smile floated from her lips. "I wasn't expecting to see you here. Were you expecting to see me?"

Lucas shook his head, "I did not plan this out. I planned on coming to California to surprise you, but I didn't think the surprise would be on both of us." He gave her one of those smiles that would make any girl swoon.

Fiddling with the handle of her mug, Alex asked, "Where are you living now?"

Lucas slid his hands from holding his mug to folded in his lap, "I live in an apartment in L.A. It's nothing special really. I just needed somewhere to live while I look for jobs. I don't know how long I'll be staying though. My mom's been nagging me to live with her in Maine..." then he put on this impossibly cute show of bravado, "but I'm a grown man." And then he deflated his chest a bit. He chuckled and continued, "No, but you've heard enough about my mom to know about her." His hands went to fiddling with his condensation soaked mug. "She thinks I should be married with kids by now. She married young and she thinks I'm ready for that kind of commitment." His thoughts trailed off as he messed around with the soggy napkin under his mug.

Alex took a long look at him before responding, "I think you're ready for that kind of commitment." His eyes raised to hers. Alex forged on, "I think out of all my friends that I met when I was younger, you were the one that I thought would have it all and fall madly in love with a girl who'd be your forever." Her head tilted to the side as he studied her more closely to understand, "Y'know... you really do have it all though." They stayed quiet for a few seconds before Felicia clumsily wobbled over to Alex and Lucas' table.

Her arrival was noted when she accidentally knocked into the table. Her slurred words spilled from her lips, "Heyyy there, preeetty peeepuulll." She let out a drunken giggle. One hand held herself up and the other was pointing her index finger at the two. She sniffed a bit and sucked up some saliva. "Club?" Alex looked over to Lucas who had a smile planted firmly on his face. He was completely amused with how hammered she had gotten.

Lucas shook his head, "No thanks, Felicia. Maybe another night." Felicia nodded and stumbled her way back to Zander and the rest of the class. Lucas turned his focus back to Alex, "When'd you want to go home?"

It was Alex's turn to smile, "I was thinking we'd go to dinner before then." Her smile turned into a smirk, "But, if you really want to get rid of me so quickly then..."

"No, we can go to dinner." _

"Thanks for taking me out to dinner tonight." Alex gave Lucas a sweet smile as they sat in his car in her driveway. The night was dark and hardly any stars were out. Street lights poured a soft light into the car. "You know you didn't have to pay for me, right? It was my idea to go out anyway." Lucas shrugged. "I'm glad we went to the same class today." Lucas nodded. "I'm sad the night had to end." Lucas nodded. "I think you're the sexiest thing ever and I want to have your babies." Lucas nodded. Alex softly giggled which caught Lucas' attention. His eyes looked up at hers. "Ah, so now I have your attention."

"I'm sorry. What were you saying?"

Alex shook her head, "You seem preoccupied so just forget about it. It was nothing important." It vexed her that Lucas' mind was on something else. "I'll just go inside now and leave you to yourself so you can... think." Alex made a show of unbuckling herself and preparing to get out of the car. She stretched the actions longer than they would normally take.

Lucas grabbed her hand before she exited the car, "Wait... you can't just leave in a bad mood." He let go of her hand momentarily to turn off the car. "Sit. Let's rewind and go through what you were saying before." Alex plopped back into the passenger seat.

She sighed but agreed to repeat herself, "I'm just glad that we were able to hang out and catch up. That's all. I didn't really say anything earth-shattering."

Lucas nodded, "Well, I'm glad you told me." A bit of tense silence took over the small area. "I had a great time today." All was still. "It was nice to hang out with an old friend. We should hang out again." Lucas made a movement to start up his car.

Under her breath, Alex whispered a 'yeah' before getting out of the car and saying 'goodbye.' She ran into her house so she wouldn't have to watch Lucas drive away. She closed the front door behind herself, leaned up against it and slid down to the floor. Her pearly whites started to show as she thought back on the day. She lightly chuckled at certain moments of her memory.

**xoxo**

**Sorry it took me soooo long! I was thinking of making this chapter longer than my other ones but I decided to split it in half because it didn't follow my format. Anyways, I hope you lovely readers enjoyed this. I hope you're still keeping up with me! I understand if you aren't. I'm going to try to post up another chapter very soon. But, I can't guarantee anything.**

**I want to give a huge thanks to the very nice people who left me very nice reviews :) After reading some of the ones that told me to hurry up because they're losing interest, it's nice to read the ones that said that they enjoyed my story and they couldn't wait for the next update! Honestly, reading some of those reviews took me down a few notches on the happiness level but then reading the ones left by amazing people brought me back up the few notches I fell.**

**Shout outs to Laura, unperfectt, justinBieeberisluverly, Jess, liveinlove95, Claire and Sammie.**

**Super shot outs to J'adoreVendredis and Ashleigh.  
**

**Tell me what you think! I'd love to know.**


	28. Chapter 28

"Nate?" Alexis' voice rung through the silent hallways. "Nate!" Her hoarse voice suggested annoyance and anger. Her stomps reverberated on the ground. They became louder and louder until they stopped altogether. The lack of noise resembled that of the eye of the storm—eerily quiet. Nate sat in his library. He paused from reading—his hand still on top of the open book to keep his page. His eyes were locked on the door waiting for Alexis' theatrical entrance. Suddenly, the room shook and in came Alexis. Even though Nate had been expecting her arrival, it still startled him. "Nate, why did Jeremy just tell me that the guys aren't coming over tonight?" He gave her no answer. "Why did you tell them not to come?" He still just looked at her. "What's wrong with you?" She was acting childish and Nate never thought he would act as a father-figure in disciplining his girlfriend.

He slowly closed his book. "One night without them won't be the end of the world." He took his time when lifting his eyes to her. She was fuming with anger and in that moment, Nate couldn't think of the reason that made him think he could spend his life with her and not with Alex. Maybe when they were younger, they worked out. They had similar mentalities and similar likes, but now it was different. She had grown older and he had grown older. Nate wanted to hold onto that strain of teenage glory. "Let's just go do something together tonight. Just you and me. Maybe we can watch a movie? We can go shopping. We can go for a walk. Anything with just the two of us."

Alexis shook her head and let out a deep breath, "No, Nate." Her words became pointed and heavy, "I _will_ hang out with them tonight whether you like it or not. If you wanted to do something with me, then you should have said so earlier. Not now." Alexis stormed out and Nate waited for the final bow. A minute later, the house shook from Alexis slamming the front door close.

Nate sighed. He almost always welcomed the silence, but tonight, the silence was hard to enjoy. The silence gave him room to think. He didn't know if he wanted to think. Nate stood up pushing back his large plush leather chair and turned off his desk light. He slowly picked up his book and held it in one hand. His intention was to place it back on the shelf where he first found it. Pushing the book back into place, he almost wished a sign of what to do would pop out of the bookcase from between the books. Anything. Hastily written notes between books signed with Allie's name. Pictures of happiness wedged between titles. He took a step back and realized that this isn't his and Alexis' home. Sure, she lived here but he didn't build this house with her. All of the things that made this place what it was had been picked by him and Allie. There he was again, thinking. He didn't like it one bit. He took a few more steps back and settled into one of his leather chairs. He rested his chin in his fist and stared blankly at the door.

It dawned on him that he was in deep trouble.

* * *

Nate laid in bed counting beats to a tune that suddenly popped into his mind. The dark night sky shone in through the curtained windows yet it was still relatively dark in the room. The tranquil moment lasted for what seemed like eternity until Alexis stumbled into the room and threw herself onto the bed. Her actions interrupted his methodical rhythm keeping. She reeked of alcohol and cigarette smoke. As it already was, he didn't want her any closer to him smelling like that, but she snuggled up against his body holding him tight before she smacked her lips, yawned and heavily dropped her head onto his chest. Nate let out a sigh and tried his best to fall asleep.

* * *

"Alexis..." Nate grabbed a bag of baking goods, "Alexis!" There was no response but a grunt. He walked to the foyer from the kitchen about ready to exit the house until he saw Alexis slumped over on the bottom step of the stairs. He knelt down to her level and pushed back some of her teased hair from her face. "Alexis, it's time to go. We have to go to Shane's house to do that thing and bake a bunch of cookies with him for that bake sale he said he'd bake for. Let's go." Alexis shook her head. "Before we go, you should probably get cleaned up. Mitchie's little cousins are going to be there." He stood up and watched her to see if she would move. She groaned and let her head slide over to lean on one of the steps, her mouth hanging wide open. "I get that you're hung over but this is kind of important." Alexis lazily swotted her hand in Nate's direction. Nate sighed. "I'll be waiting in the car. Be there in fifteen minutes." He waited for a response but didn't get any. He hardened his voice trying to tell her he meant business, "Go. Now." She slowly scrambled up the stairs. He watched until he saw her enter the master bedroom. Running a hand through his hair, he questioned when his relationship altered to this point. Nate took a seat on the step Alexis had previously been occupying and waited for her to come back down.

Twenty minutes later, she came down looking fresh and hints of her night were gone. Nate could still smell the cigarette smoke in her hair but he figured she cleaned up just enough so it wasn't so obvious that she forgot she was supposed to be working with little kids today. Alexis remained quiet but kept her chin up almost as if saying that she didn't appreciate Nate's bossy tone from earlier. His hand naturally fell to the small of her back as he led her to the car. As she climbed in the car, she gave him a sneer before slamming the door. He sighed and got in the car himself.

By the time Nate and Alexis arrived at Shane's house, he saw cars already lining the street in front of the house. "Great." Nate shut off the car. "We're late." Alexis shook her head and roughly opened her door. Nate looked after her and rushed to get out of the car so they would show up at the door together.

* * *

"Mitche, can you hand me that bowl of chocolate chips?" Shane held out his hand for the bowl. Mitchie broke her concentration on frosting some cookies to give him the bowl. Shane passed the bowl to one of Mitchie's cousins named Marjorie, "Here ya go. Just dump this in the bowl. We've got plenty more so don't worry about not saving any." Marjorie did as told tentatively. She looked up at Shane from where she stood on the foot stool for approval. Shane smiled and nodded his head as she dumped the rest of the chocolate chips in. "Good!" He took the bowl from her small hands and placed the bowl next to Mitchie.

Mitchie and Shane had been baking for a good hour and a half already. There were messes all over the kitchen but the messes weren't so bad that they actually had to clean them up. Shane had a little flour on his face but Mitchie still looked flawless with her softly curled hair. She had taken off her rings and bangles and placed them over on the little table with Shane's keys. Earlier that day, Mitchie had brought five of her little cousins in a minivan she had borrowed from her aunt to Shane's house. Shane thought it was cute that she was driving them around but Mitchie sighed and complained that the minivan made her feel like a soccer mom at the age of thirty-six. Mitchie had introduced each of her little cousins to Shane who all stared at him with eyes of awe. While Shane and Mitchie prepared lunch, they let them watch some TV. After lunch, Mitchie decided that they should get started baking right away before the kids needed their naps.

Mitchie checked the digital clock above the oven and took a glance at her four year old cousin, Ellisyn, who was handing her unfrosted cookies with a drowsy expression, "Oh, Shane, it's almost nap time!" Mitchie hurried her frosting rhythm. Ellisyn began to pick up her pace as she handed cookies over faster.

Ellisyn had been wordlessly handing over cookies until now, "Mitchie, I like helping you make cookies." Mitchie glanced over to Ellisyn waiting for more words to come. "But, I'm really tired now." Mitchie almost melted as she saw her little cousin look about ready to fall asleep standing up with cookies in her hands. Mitchie put down her frosting spatula as she softly smiled at her little cousin.

"Alright, Ellisyn." Mitchie gently took the cookies from Ellisyn's outstretched hands. "Let's go take a nap." After setting down the cookies on a plate, Mitchie grabbed one of Ellisyn's tiny hands before looking at the other little kids. "Marjorie, you want to go take a nap?" Marjorie was wiping sleepiness from her eyes but she shook her head still wanting to be the chocolate chip dumper. Mitchie laughed. "Alright, come on, Marjorie." With her other hand, Mitchie grabbed Marjorie's tiny hand in her own to lead them both to an empty bedroom.

While Mitchie was away, Shane glanced over at the two boys and one girl shaping cookies for baking. "Are you guys tired?" They shook their heads.

One of the little boys, Donovan, paused in the middle of shaping the dough to hold out his hand, "I'm five years old. I don't take naps. That's for little kids!" Then he went back to his dough.

The other little boy, Kennedy, looked up, "I play football, now." Shane gave him a face then chuckled not really understanding how playing football had anything to do with not needing naps. Shane then turned to Rose and waited for her response. She just looked up and shrugged then placed her shaped dough onto the baking sheet. Shane nodded and looked up over to where he heard Mitchie walking into the kitchen.

Just as Mitchie picked up the spatula to start frosting again, the doorbell rang. Shane ran to get it as Mitchie started talking to the kids. Already knowing who would be at the door, Shane threw it open. "Well, if it isn't my brother and his _lovely_ girlfriend." Shane smirked when Nate hit him for the sarcasm. Alexis gave him a glare before walking towards the kitchen. In a lower voice, Shane continued, "What were you thinking bringing her over here like that?" Nate shrugged. "She stinks of cigarette smoke and booze." Nate shoved the bag of baking supplies. "Alright." Shane sighed and rolled his eyes. "Get in here."

Mitched greeted Nate with a hug and a kiss to the cheek. She held him a bit longer to whisper in his ear, "There's some Febreeze in Shane's closet. If you don't mind, can you tell your girlfriend?" Mitchie gave him another quick kiss and released him before returning to her frosting. Nate took a glance at Alexis who was sprawled on the couch. He noticed the kids looking over at her but didn't say anything about it. He introduced himself and just like before, the kids eyes were as wide as saucers with excitement and awe.

The kids began to talk amongst themselves and Nate accidentally overheard Rose ask, "I wonder if we get to meet Alexis Texas." Nate silently shook his head before he turned to Mitchie and Shane, "So, what do I have to do?"

Shane shrugged. Mitchie looked around the kitchen and gave him a sweet smile, "You can start packing up the cookies we frosted awhile ago. The frosting should have hardened a little by now." Nate hesitated. "That or you can clean up some of the mess we already made." Nate shook his head and began packing the cookies.

After three hours of baking and six batches of two dozen cookies per hour, Shane, Mitchie and the kids were tired. Mitchie started to clean up while the kids were helping Nate pack the cookies. Shane continued frosting the cookies that were just about done cooling. Mitchie wiped up some flour as she spoke to the kids, "You guys did an awesome job today. Maybe we can get Shane to agree to do some more bake sales and then you can come over to help us again." The kids cheered and Shane shook his head to discourage Mitchie from continuing down that path. Mitchie giggled as Shane dropped the spatula and grabbed her from behind into a hug.

"Nate!" Alexis groaned loudly and slowly from the couch her hand raised in the air calling him over. "Nate!"

Mitchie glanced over in the direction of Alexis' voice and she tensed. She gently brushed herself out of Shane's embrace and as she walked over to Alexis she made herself quiet yet clear, "Alexis, please don't-" But before she could continue, Alexis had interrupted her with calling out for Nate again. "I've got two kids na-" Alexis's groans were impatient and demanding. The last one was almost as if she shrieked his name. Then she heard the bedroom door open. Out popped two teary-eyed four year olds. Mitchie rushed over to them after glaring at Alexis. Shane gave a look to Nate almost as if saying that Alexis was out of hand. Shane moved over to Mitchie and guided the three back into the room.

Nate let out a long sigh before dropping the cookies in his hands and going to Alexis. "What do you want." His words were short but not entirely unkind. Alexis' dull tired eyes stared up at Nate's and he slowly saw fire starting to build in them. It wasn't what he was hoping for. The fire burned into anger and fury. She jumped off of the couch and stormed her way towards the kitchen. When the kids saw her, they moved aside.

Alexis quickly glanced at Nate catching his eye. Nate couldn't decipher what flashed in her orbs but he knew it couldn't be good. "I'm effing tired of this. I want to go home!" She pounded her fist on the counter childishly. "You spent all day putting attention on these stupid ugly cookies!" She grabbed a few in her hands. "And not enough on me!" She threw them to the ground before looking at Nate with fiery eyes. Nate looked on with shock as he watched his girlfriend throw a temper tantrum—one that could rival that of a toddler's. Alexis stared at Nate huffing. Then when she caught a glimpse of the children staring, she began to scream at the top of her lungs and purposefully swung her fists to knock over some trays of unpacked cookies.

That few minutes felt like hours as he watched his girlfriend act worse than a misbehaved child. Everything around him moved in slow motion as his gaze fixated on Alexis. Shane and Mitchie rushing out of the bedroom. Three children running from the epicenter of the noise. Cookies flying in the air only to crash to the ground.

And then it stopped.

**xoxo**

**Hmmmm, can you lovely readers guess why Nate's in trouble?**

**So, I hope you won't be too mad at me but I couldn't help myself. I didn't read through this chapter. I just wrote it and posted it. I wanted to post it quickly so I could try to get back to posting each week. Anyways if you read through it and see something that's spelled atrociously or the grammar's distractingly off, let me know and I'll try to fix it right away!**

**I use to have a ton of chapters waiting to be posted but now I'm re-writing the ending. It's not really a tweak here and a tweak there. I'm trashing what I originally wrote and writing from where this story has started to grow. I feel like the story has taken a different turn and I almost feel like I'm cheating you guys from reading two stories. This story really has turned into a two-pronged thing? I don't know... I'm thinking of making this chapter longer... I don't know... My mind's all over the place.  
**

**Review replies from the previous chapter will soon be posted on my profile page for the reviewers without an account.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Oh and last little thing for the long author's note: Pierce? (do you remember him?) or Lucas? Who do you like more?  
**


	29. Chapter 29

Alex had finally figured out what it was about Lucas that pulled her to him. She liked him. She more than just liked him. Her past emotions were spewing out of her like lava out of a volcano—hot and intense. Never had she felt like this for anyone so suddenly. It was like a continuation of how she felt for him before Nate and her got together and Lucas abruptly left for the United Kingdom. It almost scared her how her feelings had swelled for him so quickly.

Despite her lack of enthusiasm for exercise, Alex had been regularly attending Zander's fitness boot camp classes. She told everyone that she needed to get fit, but in all actuality, she just wanted to have a reason to spend time with Lucas—more than she already was of course. Surprisingly, she was getting better at not dying in the middle of the warm-up. Alex was able to keep up with the class until the warm-up ended. With that achievement, Alex invited Lucas to go to dinner with her. She invited some of the other class members too so it wouldn't be so obvious that she was completely into Lucas. When they got to the restaurant, Alex strategically placed herself diagonal to Lucas—close enough to be part of his conversations but far enough away to be part of other people's conversations. She didn't want to give herself away so easily. From what she could tell, nobody knew about her mad crush on Lucas—not even Lucas himself.

Felicia had sat in front of Lucas and beside Zander, her exuberant eyes widened as she spoke, "You lived in the UK? How exciting! What made you come back?"

A faint turn of his lips suggested that Lucas tried to hold back a smile or bout of laughter at Felicia's enthusiasm. He looked at her with smiling eyes, "I don't know. I just needed a break from dreary London. I missed the west coast." Felicia nodded with bright, wide eyes and a tight smile.

Alex had her eyes glued to Lucas watching him as he responded and as he looked up in her direction, she glanced down quickly hoping he wouldn't notice. The heat was creeping up her neck to her cheeks as she realized he noticed. A handsome smile slipped onto his face as he glanced down at the drink in front of him. Felicia butted into the sweet moment, "So, next week we don't have class. What are your plans?" She looked around at the people closest to her waiting for answers. Zander described his plan of a scenic hike. Felicia detailed her plan of having a spa day with her mother. Alex cited work as what would keep her busy. The three looked at Lucas expectantly waiting for his answer.

"Some of my old friends from New York are coming to visit." While Felicia chattered on about how exciting it was for friends to visit, Alex knew exactly who Lucas was talking about and she couldn't help but feel taken aback by his admission. How could he just invite them and not tell her? A rush of reserve overtook her as she remembered that Lucas had no idea what happened between Nate, Mitchie, and her. Alex forced a smile and gathered all her hair to place it over her right shoulder. Alex continually listened throughout the night but held her comments to a minimum afraid that she might burst and say the wrong thing especially when it concerned the topic of the upcoming visit from her past.

* * *

On their way home, Alex had remained uncharacteristically quiet. She had her eyes looking out towards the road but she could not care less about what was out on the road in front of them. Her mind was too busy trying to comprehend Lucas' decision and his motives for his old friends' visit. "Do you want to talk about it?" Lucas' voice slipped into the silence. Astonished by his intuition, Alex turned to him with wide eyes not able to formulate a coherent thought in the first few seconds besides 'how did he know.' Turning her head back to the road, she took several minutes to gather her thoughts. In the meantime, she noted that Lucas never once glanced at her during that time.

"How could you invite that band of traitors?" The instant the forceful question left her mouth, she silently chastised herself. She agreed with herself that she wouldn't attack Lucas to get her answers. She would rationally ask questions that surrounded her main question and after gathering enough information she would deduce the answer to what she really wanted to know. Apparently, her mind and mouth had different plans. Once it was out there though, she wasn't going to act apologetically for her uncalled for question and tone.

Lucas shook his head slightly not even giving his usual lighthearted chuckles he usually let out when Alex was acting silly. He sighed and slightly shifted himself, "Those band of traitors..." Lucas took his time to relay his thoughts, "happen to still be my friends. I know... I know it sounds like a terrible line to stand up to a bully." Lucas shook his head again but his eyes were still locked onto the road. "If it really upsets you, then maybe you shouldn't come 'round my place this next week." Alex almost felt like he physically slapped her in the face with his suggestion. He didn't even try to reason with her why she should accept or forgive her former friends. He just accepted that she really disliked them and suggested that she stay away. Alex sat fuming in the passenger seat. Her arms were crossed over her chest like a toddler. The air in the car seemed to be leaving the enclosed space and Alex found it difficult to breathe easy. Lucas sighed almost as if surrendering, "Stop... Can you please stop?" He tilted his head a little to his right. "I just... I hate seeing you like this but I also can't just stop being people's friends just because you and them are at odds." Alex loosened herself a bit but still kept her arms crossed. "I'm sorry for what they put you through and I'm sorry I wasn't there to comfort you but you have to understand that I'm not sorry for inviting them or allowing them to come visit me in California." She hoped that the car was dark enough so that he couldn't see her resolve breaking or her expressions softening. She could never stay mad at Lucas for long. He always had that mystical power over her that made her anger dissipate within a few seconds.

Alex completely dropped her arms letting her left arm rest beside Lucas' on the middle console and her right arm on the door. She let her mind wander back to the situation that made her upset in the first place and she tried to let it go for Lucas' sake. Unfortunately, it was eating at her heart. She couldn't just easily let this go. Yet, her mouth just seemed to be spitting out the stupidest things. "I just can't believe that you invited those rotten people—minus Shane—and didn't let me know about it until now. You probably weren't even going to let me know at all." Alex knew she was grasping at straws. She knew she sounded ridiculous and melodramatic. But, she was angry for some odd reason and she wanted to justify her anger with something. Anything. "When did you see them anyway? When did you start talking to them again?"

Lucas had been rather calm and the level-headed one. He let her insults slide as he answered her questions. "I spent some time in New York before I moved here." Lucas casually glanced out the side of his window as they stopped at a stop light. "Honestly, though, if you aren't ready to see them or are uncomfortable with the situation, don't stop by because they'll be here for a week." The light turned green and Alex felt defeated. She knew she had been irrational. She thanked Lucas' ability to not raise his voice when he was annoyed otherwise she didn't know if she'd be able to hold in tears. Alex knew she should drop the subject since her anger wasn't going to be solved with bringing up random things. Almost as if they had a silent agreement to not break the quiet, they didn't speak for the rest of the ride. As they were pulling up to Alex's house, Alex prepared herself to make a quick escape. She had one leg out of the car before Lucas spoke to her. "When you're ready to talk to me again, call me. If you want to, you have a couple of days to prepare yourself to come to the airport with me to get them. That's only if you think you're going to be okay and be your normal self." She got the rest of herself out of the car with a huff and slammed his car door for good measure to show her anger. She angrily sighed and sulked to her front door. She hated how much control he had over himself.

* * *

Alex stood beside Lucas at the airport as they waited for his guests to exit the terminals and enter the baggage claim. She had gotten over herself to accompany Lucas though she wasn't completely content and the airport had always been one of Alex's favorite places for people-watching. People just intrigued her. People were bustling around her trying to find their own family or looking for their ride out of this place. Roaming the large surround area, her eyes fell on this elderly couple. They held hands and spoke quietly to each other as they waited by the baggage claim conveyor belt. The man's eyes lit up as he watched his wife speak with such emotion. Alex looked on with a bit of envy. She wanted that. One day...

Alex was acutely aware of Lucas' movement in the opposite direction of her. It took her a couple of seconds to register that Lucas' guests had arrived. Alex tore her eyes away from the elderly couple not wanting to miss a moment of their endearing interaction. Eventually, she pulled herself completely out of their loving world and turned to look at Lucas walking up to meet his guests half way. Alex reluctantly followed. Shane was the first to pick up his speed once he spotted Alex. From where she stood, Alex could tell Nate was a bit hesitant as he walked beside Alexis. Alex's eyes glanced over at Mitchie before Shane grabbed her into a bear hug. Melting into Shane's arms, Alex let the thought of annoyance towards Lucas for inviting the gang to California slip away. Once Shane loosened his embrace and removed his arms from around her, Alex didn't want to let go so soon. She knew once Shane let go, that's when she'd have to face Nate and Mitchie. At least Shane was there to soften the blows. Alex knew Lucas would be on her side as well but she couldn't expect him to back her up when he didn't know anything about what transpired between Nate and herself as well as Mitchie and herself. Shane walked beside Alex as she sauntered over to the rest of the group. Mitchie gazed at Alex with a bit of reserve and nervosity. Her eyes didn't lift from Alex's face for a bit—not even Alex glancing back at her stopped her. Alexis had given an uninterested head nod in Alex's direction but gave Lucas a rib-crushing hug. Nate gave Lucas one of those man head nods. Unsure of what to do with Alex, he gave her a small wave. He considered giving her a hug but Alexis held his hand with a vise-like grip. Mitchie had embraced Lucas in a sweet hug and gave Alex a timid smile unsure of what she was going to get back. At the visitors' greetings, Alex gave a reserved nod and a smile in acknowledgment of the kindness. Perhaps, that was the beginning of the next step in their respective relationships—forgiveness.

Once everything was settled, Alex agreed to take Mitchie and Shane in her car to the restaurant where they'd have dinner. Shane fueled the conversations sensing the tension between Mitchie and Alex. From Shane's rambling, Alex learned that they all would be staying at Lucas' apartment. Incredulously, Alex questioned, "Wait, you're all going to stay at Lucas'? All four of you? At his bachelor's pad?" Shane gave Alex a side-ways glance not exactly sure what she was trying to get at. "I have a house and none of you thought to ask to stay with me?" Shane and Mitchie remained quiet almost afraid to answer Alex's question. "Well then it's decided. You two will be staying at my place."

**xoxo**

**I feel like I'm losing inspiration... But anyways, I just wanted to say that I'll try to get another chapter out really fast because I kind of have in mind what I want for the next chapter. I will respond to reviews from the previous chapter reeeeallly soon. Oh and if you lovely readers could help me out, what are your suggestions for wrapping up this story? I feared that I would take too many chapters when I had originally wanted to keep it around 25 as the max and I did exactly what I didn't want to do! So, tell me what you think.**


	30. Chapter 30

As they took their seats around the round table, Alex placed herself on Lucas' immediate right and pulled Shane to her right. She didn't care where the rest of the lot sat as long as she sat next to Lucas and Shane. She did not want to be sitting anywhere near the people who caused her pain. She quickly did a rewind and realized that she would rather eat dinner with a bunch of acquaintances than a bunch of backstabbing best friends. Alex warily picked up her menu and began to make her decision about what she would order. She glanced up when she was finished and placed her menu down in front of her. Her gaze was caught by the odd sight in front of her—Nate and Alexis. Alexis was leaning over Nate to look at his menu when Alex noted that she had her own. Nate had his jaw tightened and Alex had known Nate long enough that that was a dead giveaway of his annoyance. He seemed to be edging away from her. For a couple in love, they sure did not seem like it.

The waiter came by disrupting her thoughts. After the orders were taken, Alex fell into a comfortable conversation with Mitchie and Shane. "Surprisingly, Shane did pretty well with the baking. I would say that it was almost as good as … well I have no one to compare him to." Mitchie slightly blushed at her realization.

Alex's interested facial expression turned into one of incredulity, "You're kidding." Mitchie shook her head and Shane smirked. "You're honestly telling me that Shane is actually good at making something other than music." Mitchie nodded with slight humor present in her smile while Shane protested his opposition to the statement that the only thing he made well was music. "Well, good for you, Shane! I'm proud of you." Alex gave him a silly smile before he settled down.

"Alright. Alright. I admit that I'm really great at making music." Shane smirked when Mitchie hit him for feigning cocky. "But, I'm also great at making other things. Just because you two don't want to open your eyes and admit it doesn't mean that it's not true." Both girls giggled at Shane's comment not agreeing or disagreeing with it. "Okay. We're done with this topic. Next one, please." The girls' giggles grew louder. Shane grimaced because of the laughs at his expense.

The waiter came back around saving Shane. He set down the ordered dishes in front of the respective patrons. After seeing if everything was as asked for, the waiter left the group to dine. Alex took a bite of her linguini and leaned over towards Lucas. "Mmm, mine's tasty. What about yours?"

Lucas nodded after taking a bite of his piccata and nodded, "Yup, tastes good. Want some?" He pushed his plate over to her and waved it at her. She giggled but shook her head. "You sure? You're really missing out." He teased her but she still said no.

From the other side of the table, Nate had caught the interaction between his old best-friend and his other old best-friend. He shook his head knowing he shouldn't be seeing green. He reminded himself that he did give Lucas the go-ahead. Nate just thought he'd never do it. Alexis pulled his hand from his lap pulling him from his thoughts. "Hey," she kept her eyes on her plate as she moved her food around with her fork and Nate glanced towards her, "I was thinking. Since we're here, we might as well go visit some people. I mean it's nice to see Lucas again but there's so many people I want you to meet here. I use to live around here." Nate nodded not having anything to add to her request.

By the end of dinner, Alex was pleasantly surprised that she could carry a conversation with Mitchie and not feel like strangling her for her betrayal. "So, are you guys ready to go?" Alex directed her question to Shane and Mitchie.

Nate's head shot up from astonishment, "Wait, where are you guys going?"

Lucas chuckled at Nate's sudden outburst, "Yeah, Russo. Are you _poaching_ my New Yorkers?"

Nate pouted at Lucas' injection. Not only did Lucas not call her by her legal last name but he was being charming. Alex smiled, "Actually, I am." She cocked her head to the side and gave him a flirty smile, "I hope you don't mind."

Nate snarled as he watched the two. Lucas chuckled, "No, I guess I don't." He waved towards the door, "Have fun! I'll see you guys tomorrow." Nate shook his head almost as if wanting to go after the three himself but he held himself to his seat. Alexis eyed him carefully. Lucas turned to the two left, "You guys ready to get out of here?" Nate still had his jaw tight and a sneer on his face. Alexis nodded her head and they all got up to leave.

Lucas walked ahead of the couple leading them to his car. Alexis held onto Nate's arm possessively and leaned into him. Nate pulled away at her touch and walked faster to catch up to Lucas. Alexis stopped and sighed before she hurried herself.

* * *

"Do you guys want to make s'mores out in my backyard?" Alex held up a bag of marshmallows in one hand and chocolate in the other to show Mitchie and Shane. "I figure since the night's so clear tonight, it'd be nice to take advantage of the stargazing opportunity." She shrugged hoping they wouldn't turn down her suggestion.

From the couch, Mitchie nodded and smiled, "Sounds like a great idea. Now Shane can prove to you that he can make something other than music." A large grin spread onto her face when Shane reacted with a jolt and a sprint over to her. Before Alex could see what they were doing, she turned around to look for the graham crackers in the pantry.

The three of them sat around the pit where Shane had already started a fire. Alex passed around skewers for the marshmallows and opened up the bag of their supplies. An hour had passed while they laughed and talked like they were old pals catching up. Suddenly, the mood became darker and more sullen. Mitchie looked down in her lap as she held one of her made s'mores, "Y'know... We could be talking about our lives together in the present rather than what happened when we were teenagers." Alex remained quiet not knowing what to say. Shane let his mind just wander already knowing where Mitchie was trying to go with her comment. "Alex... I miss having you in my life. I think we've all spent enough time apart to see that we actually need each other. I waited for you to forgive me, Allie but I can't wait anymore. This is so stupid that I'm spilling this all out right now but I just need to know if we're fixed. I demand to know because I've let this slide and let you be mad at me for long enough."

Alex lifted her eyes to meet Mitchie's only to tear them away again. After a long moment's silence, Alex sighed, "I just don't know." Alex hugged her legs closer to her body wrapping her arms tightly around them. "If you want me to be completely honest, it'll be brutal." Mitchie made a noise of affirmation and prodded Alex on. "Shane. You're completely zoning out right now but I love you for sticking by my side and being my friend through this all." Alex took a deep breath preparing herself for what she might say next. She willed herself not to become emotional or raise her voice, "Mitchie. How can I forgive you? I just can't find it in myself to forget what you've done or allow to happen. I don't even know if I want to be friends with you... if I can be friends with you. How do I go about being friends with someone who condones infidelity? How can I be friends with someone who forgives and protects morality like that?" Alex's voice had been eerily calm and cool. "Mitchie, I was your best friend—" Alex's voice had broken with emotion. "—your best friend in the entire world. Yet, you wished happiness to Alexis in her adulterous relationship with my husband." Alex shook her head not wanting to continue to show her emotions. "I just can't talk about this right now. I'm done for the night." Alex got up hastily wiping away mucus from her running nose. She threw some dirt onto the dying fire to put out the flames and left back into the house.

Alex made it to her room without letting a tear roll down her cheek. She closed her door softly and made her way over to her bed. She tucked herself in gingerly. With the lights turned off and her room barely lit by the moonlight, she still didn't feel at peace. She rolled over to look through the window. She admired the beauty of the night sky only to realize that the sky filled with stars looked the same as it did in New York. She frowned at the thought that somehow her life here in California had similarities to her life in New York. Yet, she knew it was unreasonable to believe that there were no correlations between the two. Here in California, she was the most sane that she had been in a while. She didn't have to worry about a cheating husband, a deteriorating marriage, broken friendships. Here in California, her biggest worry was trying to make sure she did her job correctly. Her mind had been so muddied she couldn't think about a character without thinking of her own messed up life.

Earlier that night, she had gotten so close to just telling Mitchie everything. Somehow, it just didn't feel like the time or place. Since this whole ordeal started, Alex hadn't felt this disconnected from the situation as she did right now. When she was in California, she had let the feelings just dissipate not wanting to feel them anymore. Somehow, she got really good at suppressing those feelings that even now when the situation called upon her to feel those emotions again, she just couldn't muster the energy in herself to undeniably hate those she once loved. Her rationale let her instinct take over and the anger just came with the moment but for most of the time, she was able to be friendly and normal with them simply because she couldn't find it in herself to open up old wounds. Sure, she's scarred but there's no point in re-wounding herself when the scar would never completely heal.

A few hours later, Alex was still wrapped up in her blanket waiting for her body to just lull her into a deep sleep. She heard her door creak open and she knew by the shadow casting into her room onto the wall she had been facing that the intruder was none other than Mitchie. Mitchie climbed into the empty spot beside Alex on the bed and pulled the blanket over her body before folding down a portion of it so it was comfortably out of her face. Alex tried not to get annoyed that Mitchie was messing with her perfect blanket cocoon.

Mitchie whispered quietly almost as if she was whispering to herself, "I know you're awake." Her voice was calm and steady. Alex's eyes widened with surprise and she spun around quickly and faced Mitchie. Mitchie said louder than before but still in a whisper, "Oh so you really are awake." She was slightly smiling but the smile didn't reach her eyes and it seemed forced. They remained quiet for some time as Alex studied Mitchie while Mitchie fiddled her fingers to keep herself busy.

Alex whispered just like Mitchie had, "What are you doing in here?"

Mitchie shrugged, "I don't really know. I just felt like coming to talk to you." A bit of silence passed before Mitchie continued, "I don't want to sound desperate or clingy but I'm your best friend or at least I was." Mitchie kept fiddling her fingers. "Do you remember my other best friend?" Mitchie glanced over at Alex to see her response which was a nod. "She turned out to be a bust. She almost ruined all of the relationships I actually valued." Her thoughts came out unrushed and though her words hinted that they held pain and so much weight, Mitchie continued to talk almost as if she was re-telling the oldest gossip. "People say that you can have more than one best friend." Alex's eyes looked back up to Mitchie's. "It's not that easy though. Not everyone's best friends are compatible." Being part of the situation Mitchie was alluding to, Alex understood. "I know there's always going to be that part of the past where I betrayed you by not stopping Alexis or explaining to you my side of the story. In my defense, I did want to sort things out earlier. You just ran away never wanting to hear a word from me. But, that's not the point of what I'm saying. Best friends almost always make up, Alex. It's what makes us best friends. We're able to put aside what horrible thing we'd done to each other because in the end, we encourage the best of each other and we have a good time too. When you stopped talking to me, I started hanging out with Alexis more than I probably should have." Shame pulled down her words. "I... I did things that were uncharacteristic of me. I acted like such a bad person, Alex. I could've stayed that person if it hadn't been for Shane knocking sense into me. And, I'm not blaming this on you but if you had still been there, I doubt I would've gone so far as physically fight with Alexis in the back of a taxi." Mitchie's eyes looked far away. "I was so bad, Alex and she was always around." Mitchie paused a long moment before she started up again. "I'm lucky to have Shane. He's amazing and understanding. He loves me despite my flaws and mistakes. He wants what's best for me and won't stop until he gets it for me." Mitchie shook her head, "I don't regret that I had to fall under bad influence to realize how great I had it with Shane. Otherwise, I would've lived my life taking him for granted. Or I would've lived my life wishing I hadn't screwed up my relationship with him. He helped me get through a lot. I fell into some destructive habits and yet he was still there with me." Alex continued to watch Mitchie noticing that Mitchie's eyes started to get a little watery. "When I first found out about Nate and Alexis, I hadn't known that it was Nate that Alexis was dating. I was so happy for her because she finally seemed to be straightening herself out and she seemed happy again. I was so wrapped up in that that I hadn't realized that Alexis was having an affair with a married man. I should've known when she'd told me about their sexcapades in a rented hotel room." Mitchie paused a bit looking down at her hands but then back up toward the wall across from her. "Maybe this is what Nate needed. He needed something to make him realize that he had it good with you. That's no excuse for an affair but... I mean. I know he hurt you. If he isn't that kind of guy for you like Shane is for me, maybe you're better off without him."

Alex slightly giggled no longer wanting to take the conversation so seriously, "Honestly, I don't know. It's Nate. I just... Today when I was sitting across from Nate and Alexis, I noticed that they just didn't seem as connected as I thought they would be and I was sort of relieved that they weren't really that fairy tale couple I thought they were. I know that sounds mean because I should be wishing them the best but he's still my husband except he's not really mine anymore." Alex had learned to settle with the feeling that Nate didn't really feel like her best friend and love anymore. It had been hard to get over especially with the constant fact that she had been eclipsed by Alexis too many times.

* * *

"Eh, can you hand me a beer?" Nate, Lucas and Alexis were sitting out on the balcony of Lucas' apartment unwinding the long day with a little hang out before going to bed. Lucas looked over at Alexis with a face of indifference at her request. The way she requested for another beer reminded Lucas of a truck driver in the deep south sitting on a porch getting drunk with a gun clung to his side. He looked over at Nate who was sitting on his other side and nodded towards the deck door silently telling Nate to go get one for Alexis. Nate sighed and hoisted himself up to get the beer. Lucas hadn't known why Alexis hadn't sat next to Nate instead she decided to sit on the other side of Lucas. He took another swig of his beer as he relaxed in his chair.

Alexis leaned over, "I knew you wanted to get some alone time with me." She smiled suggestively.

Lucas scoffed, "No. I just didn't want to go get you another beer. It's tiring to get up and come back just to get you another one." Alexis cackled thinking he was joking. Nate came back out onto the deck passing over a bottle of beer to Alexis. "Alright, last round guys. I think I'm heading in after this one."

Nate gave a halfhearted grunt in agreement. Alexis was chugging her beer. Lucas swirled the rest of his beer around his bottle distractedly until Alexis belched surprising him out of his thoughts. She slammed her bottle down onto the ground letting them know she was finished with her beer. "I need to pee." Alexis got up and left for the bathroom.

When Lucas was certain she had entered the bathroom, he looked over at Nate, "She's a keeper; she is." Nate shook his head knowing Lucas' comment was nothing but sarcasm but chuckled all the same.

"Hey, I know it's been awhile since we've been able to hang out like the old days but I think we've picked back up on the same page right?" Lucas nodded agreeing with Nate's statement. "We can still talk candidly, right?" Lucas nodded again hesitant to agree. "So, listen. I know I gave you the okay, but I don't think it's really a good idea anymore." Before Lucas could clarify what Nate was talking about, Alexis wobbly came back out flinging herself toward Nate. "Hey, babe. Ready to go to bed?" Alexis made an odd noise that Lucas assumed was an affirmation. Nate got up pushing Alexis up in the process. She hung on to him as he led her inside.

Lucas sighed when he caught a glimpse of the mess Alexis had made where she sat. A few bottles were strewn across the ground around the legs of the chair. Lucas looked out toward the city and his mind moseyed back to Nate's last comment to him. It clicked that Nate did not want Lucas to go out with Alex. He chuckled at Nate's silliness. Despite what Nate thought, Lucas did not move out to L.A. just for Alex. She was actually something that came along with L.A. Lucas wanted to live a little more and travel the world. Sure, he was most likely the most worldly and adventurous among his friends. He lived in several different countries in Europe per his choice. He's a frequent hiker and diver. If someone had asked him, Lucas had probably done it or at least thought of doing it.

When Lucas had asked Nate if he could talk to Alex, he really had the thought in mind to pursue her. When they first met, they had such great chemistry. Lucas didn't know the whole story or how it all went down, but within the short amount of time they had been flirting and going out, Nate came into the picture as more than just a platonic friend to Alex. Lucas wasn't one to just dwell on a girl and put everything into a relationship if she was only in the relationship halfway. So, things remained relatively casual. Until, Alex officially became Nate's girl. Then the dynamic changed and Lucas could not wait to start his life in London. Lucas should've known though. He should've seen it coming. Nate was always the selfish type. He grabbed a hold of Alex then and he was trying to do it now.

**xoxo**

**I know it took me a little longer to get this out but this chapter's longer! I hope that makes up for the wait. So what do you lovely readers think about the new development?**


	31. Chapter 31

"Early mornings are such a drag." A deep voice had pulled Alex out of her sleep. She glimpsed at her digital clock and groaned before looking over at the open door. Shane filled the frame with his body and a goofy grin slapped on his face.

Mitchie stirred beside Alex, "Babe, really?"

Shane made his way over to the bed and if Alex wasn't still groggy, she could've sworn that Shane had skipped over to the bed. He jumped onto the bed and slithered his way in between Alex and Mitchie. He landed with a plop and both girls made noises of disapproval and discomfort.

Alex pushed Shane a little closer to Mitchie before repositioning herself to get the most comfort. She laid for a couple more seconds with her face against her pillow before asking, "Shane, why does my house smell like bacon?" The smell of fried bacon had been wafting into her room and Shane still had a grin plastered to his face.

Mitchie had rested her head on Shane's chest when she entered the conversation, "Did you make us breakfast?"

Shane nodded and kissed Mitchie in her matted hair. "Yeah, let's go eat it before it gets cold." When neither girl moved, Shane thought it was necessary to add, "Oh, Alex, how do you turn off your stove? I just left it going since the knob popped off."

Alex's eyes popped open. "What?" She jumped out of bed and ran to the kitchen. Shane chuckled at Alex's reaction.

Mitchie glanced at Shane with a look of suspicion and Shane just shrugged.

* * *

"Hey Luke, do you have any aspirin?" Lucas was sprawled across his bed with his face smooshed against his pillow, a foot hanging over the edge of the bed and half of his comforter on the floor. He rolled over and faced the door still in a stupor. "Alexis has a bit of a headache."

Lucas reluctantly pulled himself out of bed and walked out to his kitchen to find the bottle of pills. Nate followed after him. To Lucas' surprise as he entered the eating area, he found his poached New York guests and the poacher. "Morning!" He lifted his hand in greeting with his voice still husky from just waking up. He had a half smile growing on his face and he continued to the kitchen to look for what he was woken up for.

Alex had been in the middle of saying something when Lucas had come out of the bedroom area of his apartment but she couldn't seem to just finish her words. Lucas had stolen her breath away. He didn't even seem fazed by the realization that people he hadn't expected to be there were indeed sitting in his breakfast nook and he was still in just a pair of boxers. Mitchie's mouth had also been hanging open slightly. Lucas' didn't seem like he was showing off his sleek and toned but not overly muscular body. He was just walking around casually like he didn't know that he had the body of an Italian masterpiece. Alex knew the boot camp sessions were intense and Lucas engaged in other physical activity but she never really saw what was under the shirts he worked out in. His tanned body and bed hair was seriously getting Alex flustered. She accidentally let an expletive fall under her breath.

Lucas had been shuffling though cabinets and drawers. Alex and Mitchie took a momentary pause from their conversation with Shane. Lucas stood back up and was eyeing a bottle in his hand as Mitchie and Alex were eyeing the movement of his muscles in his back. "Nate," Lucas stepped over to Nate, "I think this'll help her out." He handed the bottle over to Nate. Nate shook his head as he spotted Mitchie and Alex completely engrossed in Lucas but grabbed the bottle and thanked Lucas quickly. Lucas turned around to his guests, "So, I'm assuming you guys are ready for the adventure of the day then?" He grinned as he leaned on the counter. Alex nodded blankly. Lucas chuckled, "I see not everyone's as wide awake as Nate is." Lucas pushed himself off of the counter and headed back to his room.

Alex let out a breath of air, "Well dang." Mitchie nodded.

"Alright, back to me now." Shane said impatiently. The girls giggled and Mitchie leaned in to give Shane a quick peck on the lips.

* * *

Lucas, Alex, Mitchie and Shane were sitting out on the balcony waiting for Nate and Alexis. The morning was breezy but that didn't stop the group from enjoying the morning air. Mitchie and Shane were whispering sweet nothings to each other and an occasional giggle spilled from Mitchie's mouth. Lucas was teasing Alex and she was a ball of non-stop giggles and her cheeks tinged pink.

Alex glanced over at the couple and noted that they seemed too pre-occupied to even be paying any attention to her and Lucas so she thought she'd get a little more brazen. Lucas had been saying something when she leaned in and smiled deviously.

He chuckled and stopped his train of thought, "What are you up to?" She stood up from her seat and took the few steps over to Lucas. She sat down on his lap and wiggled to get herself more comfortable. His hands immediately flew from his lap to the air in front of him and away from her body. "What is this?" Lucas asked playfully. Alex shrugged and hoped that she was doing her best to look sexy. "What is this?" He asked again and began to tickle her.

She was uncontrollably giggling until all of a sudden a loud bang was heard from inside. His fingers stopped and they rested on her waist waiting for any more noise. Loud angry voices were heard and more jostling of objects inside the apartment. Lucas guided Alex up and made his way inside his apartment. Alex leaned against the railing unsure of what to do. She looked over at Mitchie who happened to glance over at her at the same time.

"I don't give a shit!" Alexis threw a book aimed at Nate's head. He ducked just in time.

Nate threw his hands up as if surrendering, "Don't get all upset at me just because I'm trying to make the most of our vacation."

"You're not trying to make the most of our vacation, Nate. You're being selfish and horrid. Just admit that you came here…"

Lucas came in at that second. "Are we good in here?" Lucas took in the appearance of the room and its occupants. Nate's hair and clothing were disheveled and Alexis' hair looked like a mess.

Alexis had angry tears threatening to spill, "He is an asshole." Lucas nodded but assumed that their argument was over for now. Alexis straightened herself out. She sniffled and tucked some hair behind her ear. The tension in the room was thick. "I got to go." Alexis grabbed her purse and headed out of the apartment with a slam of the front door.

Lucas watched Alexis leave and once the front door was completely closed he turned to Nate and despite everyone's curiosity, Lucas hadn't asked what had just transpired, "So, what are your plans for today?"

Nate sighed and slumped to sit on the ground.

Alex rushed in and gently ran into Lucas. She hid herself behind Lucas but took a peek at Nate. Nate looked up at the noise she made and he was completely disgusted. He huffed as he got up, "I thought we already established something Lucas but I guess not." Nate left the apartment in the same manner as Alexis.

Mitchie came in following Shane, "Well… I guess we should start our adventure now?"

Alex looked up at Lucas from where she stood, "What did he mean, Lucas?"

Lucas nodded, "Let's take my car."

* * *

Lucas, Alex, Mitchie and Shane sat at a round café table. Alex consistently pestered Lucas about what Nate meant before he left but Lucas wouldn't tell her anything not even a single hint.

After their lunch, the group just casually sat around drinking their respective beverages, "So, Lucas." Mitchie had a grin growing on her face, "Do you have a girlfriend?" Lucas didn't seem fazed but Alex's eyes immediately darted to see Lucas' reaction.

"No girlfriend at the moment."

Alex waited for more information as Mitchie prodded Lucas. "None at all? Not even a possible interest?"

Lucas chuckled but Shane cut in before Lucas could respond much to Mitchie and Alex's chagrin. "Mitch, stop giving him the third degree."

Mitchie shrugged, "Alright, it's okay if you don't want to tell us now but let's go out tonight. I'm dying to hit up a club with my good friends!" Alex gave her a look. "Yes, I know my recent track record with clubs isn't spotless but I'm here with responsible adults with great moral compasses and who are capable of stopping me from danger that I probably won't get into. Alex, Lucas bring some friends. It'll be fun. We're going home in a few days and I'd like to meet who y'all hang out with." When Alex gave Mitchie an unsure response, Mitchie begged.

Lucas sighed and tried to convince Alex, "Sure, why not? They won't be in town for much longer anyways and if Mitchie wants a good night out than that she'll get. My friend's DJing tonight anyways."

* * *

"That was fun. We should go again some time." Alex nodded as she dropped her shopping bags by her bathroom door. Mitchie followed her into the room.

"Yeah, who knew Shane wanted to learn to surf?"

"Who knew Lucas knew how to teach someone to surf?" Mitchie wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and Alex blushed slightly. "So, what's going on between you and Lucas? Or is the better question: what's going on with you when it comes to Lucas?" She plopped herself onto Alex's bed as Alex moved to put away new bought items.

"Umm, well…" Alex threw another bag into her closet before turning off the closet light and pausing to face Mitchie, "I don't know what's going on with Lucas since he didn't exactly answer your question earlier with my name." Alex seemed miffed but she continued, "I, though, really like Lucas. I feel like no time has been lost since five or six years ago when we actually had something going on. I could be wrong though. I don't know who he hangs out with and as much as I try, he doesn't spend all of his time with me. Sometimes it surprises me when he says he has other friends…"

Mitchie's expression twisted with confusion, "Are you serious, Allie? We've known forever that Lucas is very outgoing and people love him even though he doesn't try. He's just that personable. Of course, he'd have other friends. It wouldn't surprise me if he had closer friends than you."

Alex threw daggers with her eyes at Mitchie. "I know. I'd just rather it not be true."

"Who do you think he'll bring?"

Alex shrugged, "I really don't know, Mitch. I never really asked him about his other friends."

Mitchie nodded, "Alright, we only have so much time before they come to get us so let's get all dolled up!"

* * *

Mitchie and Alex had finished getting ready and were starting the night off with wine. "We need to start ourselves off slowly, Allie. Wine's the way to go because we're classy." Mitchie was already buzzed and saying dumb stuff.

"It's a wonder you can even spend a night partying and accepting free drinks when you can't even have a beer and a glass of wine and act normally." Alex set her glass down in the sink when the doorbell rang. "Mitch, do I look okay?" Mitchie glimpsed in Alex's direction as she was downing the last drops of fermented grape juice from her glass. Alex was a sexy stunner in her black skintight bandage dress and black four inch pumps with her hair in loose waves. Mitchie nodded her head giving her approval.

She pulled the glass away from her mouth, "Yes Allie, you'll be the star of Lucas' night. He won't be able to keep his hands off of you! If I were interested in girls that way, I wouldn't be able to keep my hands off of you. By the way, nice smoky eye action; I like it." Alex giggled and shook her head.

"Goodness, Mitch. It's definitely a wonder." Alex ran to the door to open it for the boys while Mitchie was trying to gather her things to go. She did a mental check: phone, ID, lipstick in bra. Check!

**xoxo**

**So... it's been a while... a long while. ****I wanted to say thanks really quickly to everyone who still reads this story. I got really busy for the past few months and then when I did have time this past couple of weeks, I just didn't have it in me to write about this anymore. I do plan on finishing this story though and maybe editing it over so that some unnecessary parts are taken out or just to fine tune the packaging.**

**Anyways, I hope everyone had a splendid holiday break! I know I did! Tell me what you think about the chapter or just talk to me :) I'd really appreciate feedback or just quick hellos from readers just to know you all are still there.**


	32. Chapter 32

Alex and Mitchie had started their night off at the bar. Mitchie reasoned that they needed to hydrate before they began to sweat. Mitchie leaned in to speak to Alex, "So, where's your boy at?"

A face of panic struck Alex, "Hush, Mitch!"

Alex looked around to see if she could spot the boys. Unsurprisingly, all she could see was the dancing and mingling people in her immediate reach. Alex and Mitch talked between themselves for a bit before both girls decided it was time to get their bodies moving. After finding an adequate spot, Alex began to gyrate against the guy who grabbed onto her body. She glanced around not finding who she wanted but instead Nate and Alexis talking at the bar.

The tension between the two was glaringly evident. From Alex's point of view, it seemed that Nate was failing at appeasing Alexis. As curious as she was, Alex really didn't want to get involved knowing full well how explosive Alexis' temper could be. She wasn't exactly sure who would be the first to blow up in her face if she were going to help out. Nate had the same hot temper as Alexis.

Mitchie's tapping on her arm pulled her stare away from Nate and Alexis. Mitchie pointed over in the other direction where her eyes landed on Lucas, golden boy of the night, with another female. Alex's body stood still as she took in the sight. Her heart plummeted to her stomach as her chest constricted and breathing seemed to be difficult. Her face burned red with anger or embarrassment or disappointment, she couldn't put her finger on the mix of feelings. What made her even more jealous was that the girl he was with was gorgeous.

Alex immediately made her way over to the two insanely good-looking people. Lucas's attention was completely engrossed in conversation with the girl; he hadn't noticed Alex practically stomping up to him. However, Alex made herself present. "Hi, Lucas." Alex gave a fake grin. Lucas pulled his eyes away from the lovely petite girl in front of him to Alex. He nodded after a bit of confusion crossed his face. Alex cocked her head to look at the girl. "Who's this?"

Lucas looked at the girl again and his face melted into a smile, "This is Kaylin." She smiled and held out her hand towards Alex for a handshake. Alex glared at the girl's hand as if it belonged to an alien. She gave her the up-down scrutinizing every little thing about her. Before another word could come out of her mouth, Mitchie came over and interrupted.

Mitchie introduced herself to Kaylin and they seemed to hit it off pretty well. Alex stood close by brooding. Kaylin had notably impeccable manners, a scintillating smile, a body to kill for, a personality that could light up the whole room and most importantly, she had Lucas' romantic attention. Alex already oozed hatred for her. Shane came around and took Mitchie away for a dance. Alex was left with Kaylin and Lucas. As if it weren't awkward before, Alex definitely felt awkward now. She gave the pair a look of utter distaste and left to get another drink.

* * *

By the end of the night, Alex was a mess. Mitchie sat her down in a booth. Keeping her at the bar was a total mistake when she slipped off of the bar stools and almost threw a fit when the bartender cut her off. Alex played the "I'm famous" card and the bartender really didn't give a shit. Shane had been off with some of his old friends and Mitchie claimed to not have known them which was partially true. It was around 1:45 AM when Alexis came around… alone. She plopped down beside Alex and didn't say much as she approached the two girls. Mitchie glanced over and surveyed her friends. Both were completely out of it. Both had boy troubles but only one was completely hammered. Alexis turned to the girls, "So, the club's closing soon. Do you guys want to get out of here?"

Alex sloppily turned herself to look at Alexis and a weak finger pointed at her, "I don't like you very much." Her slurred words didn't seem to faze Alexis. The bored expression was plastered on her visage almost as if it was permanent. "You're a hustling hoe." Alex hiccupped and slumped in the booth some more.

Mitchie grabbed Alex's offending hand and pushed it back in her lap, "Right. Okay you're done." Mitchie looked up at Alexis who still seemed bored, "How are we going to get home? Lucas drove us here."

Alexis glanced at Alex before moving her eyes back to Mitchie's, "Simple. We take a cab."

Mitchie cringed, "Then how do you suggest we get into Lucas' apartment."

"Well, then fine. We'll stay at her place. The club closes in a little bit so we're all going to leave here anyways. I just didn't want to wait until then."

Mitchie shrugged and picked up her phone to call a taxi service. Once she was done, she started trying to pick up Alex, "Let's go wait outside—they should be here soon."

* * *

Both Alexis and Mitchie struggled to get Alex into the back of the taxi but once they got her in, they took a seat on either side of her to keep her somewhat upright. Once the taxi driver started to their destination, Alex slumped down and her head fell onto Mitchie's shoulder. She seemed to be taking a short nap. "So, why are you doing this?"

Alexis ripped her gaze from the scenery outside to Mitchie, "I'm not all evil, Mitch. I just happen to have a heart too."

Mitchie was still confused, "I don't understand why you're helping Alex though. You never really liked her and Nate is starting to take a liking to her again."

Alexis sighed, "It's not like he ever stopped loving her. He just didn't realize how good he had it. It's frustrating when he's so fickle. One minute he wants me and the next he wants Alex. I can be a nasty person, Mitch, but I would've thought out of all the people who knew me, you'd be the one who'd have my back no matter what." She paused and looked back out the window. "I don't hate Alex for the record. We've got so many things in common that people conveniently think that we're competition. People just think I hate her but that's so far from the truth. I barely even know her. I respect her work and that's about as much as it goes from there." Alexis took a peek at the driver to see if he was listening. He didn't seem to be which satisfied her. "I didn't get back with Nate to hurt Alex. Sure, I was selfish when I started an affair with Nate but I was looking for happiness in my bleak personal life. I recognize the fact that I'm successful professionally but it sucks so much to not be able to share this success with anyone. I'm not a being built to be alone forever. As great as Nate is, he's not as great as everyone thinks he is. He approached me about reigniting our flame which according to him never extinguished. He's a pretty slimy person when it comes to matters of the female heart."

Suddenly, the car stopped and Alexis got off. Mitchie still had thoughts swirling in her head about the new information her ex-best friend had just divulged. The taxi driver snapped her out of it with a snappy response, "Miss, you gonna get out of my cab or what?"

* * *

"Mitch, I want him. I want both of them. Who do I want?" Mitchie tried to take off Alex's high heels but that proved to be difficult with Alex's flailing limbs.

"Listen, Alex. We can figure this out in the morning. Stop moving." Alex shook her head and groaned. "Alex, stop."

Mitchie stopped as soon as she heard Alex begin to cry again. Mitchie blew her bangs out of her face and plopped herself down onto Alex's bed putting her head into her hands. She sat and listened to Alex's blubbering about Lucas… about Nate. Soon, she was having trouble deciphering which comment was meant for which man. About twenty minutes later, Alex's whimpers ceased filling the room. Mitchie glanced over and Alex had fallen asleep.

Mitchie sighed and finished her original plan of taking off Alex's heels. Once they were off, Mitchie grabbed a trash bin and left it by Alex's bed. "The things I do for you, Alex."

After dealing with Alex, Mitchie went to look for Alexis. Something inside of her felt utterly conflicted. She couldn't seem to get anything right these days. She wronged every one of her friends and they all had let her know in a manner that she wouldn't have the restraint to do herself. Searching around the house had Mitchie's mind wandering. She'd made a lot of mistakes in her life and those that mattered to her forgave her with welcoming arms. What had she done when her friends were in the same situation? She shunned them until the tension between them had sucked the air between them to the point it became unbearable to be around them. Mitchie finally found Alexis out on the patio sitting, watching the stars.

Alexis had scrubbed all of her makeup off and her hair wrapped into a bun on top of her head. Her attire contradicted every single outfit she had worn since coming on this trip yet she seemed like her old self. Or maybe that self never left. Mitchie opened the patio door quietly, "Alexis?" Alexis turned her gaze from the stars to her best friend. Mitchie studied Alexis' form scrunched up on the patio chair. She watched as Alexis grabbed for a cigarette and lit up the end with a small flame from her cheap lighter. Mitchie slowly came closer and took a seat beside Alexis as she drew from her cigarette.

They sat in silence—Alexis watching the stars and Mitchie cautiously taking a glance at Alexis every few minutes. A breeze blew by causing Alexis to pull her body in closer. "What is it that you want, Mitch?" Her voice came out softly, gently, and as whispy as the smoke that slipped from her lips.

"I'm not sure, really."

Alexis tore her eyes from the sky and they fell on Mitchie's visage. "If you're here to tell me to give Nate back to Alex, you're wasting your time."

It never crossed Mitchie's mind to demand that from Alexis. She wanted everyone to be happy in this situation but it didn't seem that anyone really was. Even the adulterers seemed to be having trouble in paradise. "I wasn't intending to but I am curious as to why you'd think I would."

"You seem to think you know what the right thing to do is in every situation. You encouraged me to continue on with this relationship and don't deny it." She sat for a moment seeming to collect her thoughts. "You don't deserve all of the handouts people give to you sometimes. Honestly. You have no clue about any of the misdoings you do to people until they tell you and make your life inconvenient. You don't notice anything. You don't pay attention to anything. So, please, do us a favor and stop putting your two cents in everywhere. You have no right to be handing out advice."

Mitchie became defensive, Alexis' words had stung her and they seemed to be coming from nowhere. "Don't take your frustrations out on me, Alexis. If any one of us here did something wrong, it's you."

Alexis unraveled herself quickly and put her cigarette out by shoving it in a disposable cup. "I'm out of here and don't you think of trying to apologize this time." Alexis got to the door before she turned around, "Before you start trying to make me do something about Nate and Alex, why don't you open your eyes and realize that Alex can only have one man. Not two. It's so obvious that she wants Lucas. So why do you keep pushing Nate on her?" Alexis made her exit. Mitchie sat for a while longer enough to hear Alexis take a cab back to Lucas'.

* * *

Lucas pulled a shirt over his head as he climbed out of bed to answer the incessant knocking at the front door. He sighed wondering who would come this late at night or this early in the morning rather. The sun hadn't even come up yet. As he walked to the door, he glanced around his apartment in a stupor. Everyone seemed to make it back okay and some of his friends even crashed here over night. Shane and Nate were in the guest bedroom sharing the bed as a couple of his friends were strewn around his living room. Lucas took a look through the peep hole and was surprised to find Alex standing on the other side of the door. He quickly pulled it open worried at the sight of her. She was still in her outfit she wore to the club. Her hair was ruffled, her makeup smeared across her face. "Alex, what happened? Come here." He pulled her in holding her body close to his protectively.

Alex hadn't said a word too stunned by his tantalizing appearance. He was wearing a pair of boxers and what seemed like a raggedy old undershirt he must have worn around the apartment doing housework. He had nice, perfectly placed tousled hair—just the way she liked it. For a few seconds, her mind fought against her animalistic temptations of ripping his clothes off and having him be hers at that very moment. She closed her eyes leaning into him, holding him closer.

Sooner or later, she'd have to face the music and explain why she'd come at this hour of the day. She knew. She pushed herself away willing for angry tears not to fall. The silence had been pleasant for a bit as the light breezes swirled around her. Her eyes were trained on the ground as his were on her. Inhaling a good amount of air to give her confidence, she looked at him with fiery eyes or at least what she hoped was fiery eyes. "Why didn't you tell me about that girl?"

Lucas stood studying her wondering if she really wanted to hear the truth or if she wanted to hear something that would simply please her mood. "Kaylin? Her and I are a new development."

Alex scoffed, "So you say." She swayed to the side a bit. Her slurring had lightened up but the rest of her was still woozy from intoxication. "Well, what about me?" Forgetting the magic of working up a conversation, she jumped straight to the point. "What happened to us?"

He stood debating what to say next. He gently pulled Alex into the apartment and led her to the balcony. As he slid the door closed, Alex watched him from the railing. By this time of day, it was quite chilly but Lucas didn't seem too affected standing out in the weather with his lack of clothing. "Allie, why don't you take a seat." Alex shook her head so Lucas shrugged and stood in his place. Taking a deep breath, he started, "What is it that you want to know? You know our history as well as I do."

Her lips started to tremble along with her voice, "Well, why aren't you with me then?"

"Al, that would never be okay. Not anymore." Alex shook her head not wanting that answer. She didn't understand why Lucas was denying her what she wanted.

"You came to California for me. That has to be the only reason why you left the UK." Alex knew it was a presumptuous assumption to make but she made it anyways. "Now, you're off gallivanting and showing off a girl named Kaylin? Where did she even come from?"

Lucas paused. He contemplating this conversation with her when she had alcohol running around her system but it had to happen. "Let's not do this right now. We can do it in the morning. Why don't you go to bed?" Lucas pointed back to the door but Alex shook her head.

"Don't blow me off, Lucas. Don't you even dare be like Nate." Lucas shrugged and sighed. Looks like he wasn't going to be able to hold off the conversation until later. "Tell me now."

"Tell you what, Alex?"

"Tell me you want me as much as I want you."

It wouldn't be fair to take advantage of Alex while her love life was in Limbo. "I'm sorry I can't say the same." He swallowed feeling the tension start to build a wall between them. All of that time he spent with her thinking that maybe this time around it'd work out was all for waste. He should've prepared himself for this moment when he'd have to give up Alex again. Truly, he knew it was best for him and her. Spending time with Nate and Alexis made him realize that Nate was much better off with Alex rather than Alexis. Alexis was much better off without Nate. He wasn't sure where he fit into this equation. And if he was being completely honest with himself, he wasn't his best self with Alex.

Alex gave him a glare that felt like daggers in his chest. "I. Hate. You." She walked up to him and hit him in the chest with all of her might. "I. Hate. You." She continued hitting him. He didn't flinch. Finally, she got tired and yelled in his face, "I. HATE. YOU." She gasped with tears streaming down her face. "You are a scam. A cheat." Every accusation coming from her mouth had hurt but Lucas wanted what was best for all of them.

"Alex…" He tried to wrap his arms around her.

She growled, "Don't you dare touch me." Her index finger flew up to point at him. "Don't you dare touch me."

"Well, what do you want from me then?"

Alex let out a sob, "Why are you doing this to me?"

There was a throbbing that started in Lucas' chest and he knew he couldn't take more of hurting her. He just wanted to scoop her into his arms and make the tears dry.

* * *

After sitting for half an hour outside by herself pondering her life and those of her friends, she decided she needed a break to check on Alex. As she rounded up on to the bedroom, the empty bed had her panicked. She rushed to other rooms to see if she was around and surprisingly, she found Alexis in the guest bedroom. Confusion occupied her mind but realization dawned on her that it had been Alex who took the cab and not Alexis. She shook Alexis awake. "Hey, come with me! We need to find Alex."

* * *

"Today, I can't be Alex Gray." Alex stood at the island in her kitchen leaning on it with her hands on the edge and locking her arms. She had taken some Ibuprofen and had a big breakfast to soak up the nastiness she felt in her body. Her hair was pulled into a bun on top of her head. Sliding her hands further onto the island she unlocked her arms and rested her elbows on the granite and her head in her hands.

Mitchie sat across from her along with Alexis. When she'd woken up this afternoon, she was embarrassed about her encounter with Lucas but irritated that Alexis was at her house. Mitchie calmed her down and talked her into letting Alexis stay. Now, Alex didn't care. She didn't care for the girl but she now did not care whether or not Alexis knew her secrets anymore. She had a feeling that Alexis wouldn't be saying much about anything any time soon.

Alexis pushed a cup of water over to Alex, "Here, have some more water. I'm not an expert but I'm pretty sure you should hydrate yourself with something like water." Alex stared at the cup and eventually took it. "Listen, I have to go but thank you for letting me stay here. I appreciate it greatly." Alexis got up and pushed her stool back to its place. Alex took a sip from the cup and set the glass back down. The front door closed and both girls assumed Alexis had left. "So, Alex… I'm only going to be here for so much longer."

"I'm sorry, Mitch. The only thing on my mind right now is how I royally screwed up my relationship with Lucas last night. I'm so freaking stupid. I don't know what I was thinking when I did that."

Mitchie shrugged. "It was going to come eventually. I just think you chose the wrong time but at least it's out there now. The ball's in his court."

Alex stared a bit at Mitchie trying to sort the thoughts in her mind. She took the seat next to Mitchie. "I just can't believe I did that." She shook her head as Mitchie remained silent. "The thing is, Mitch, I thought he really liked me. I thought everything was honky dory like old times. I guess I was wrong."

"So, what's going to happen next? Do you think you'll talk it out with him?"

It was Alex's turn to shrug now. Relationships were never easy to navigate for her. To say what the right move would be to take next was impossible in her mind. "I've hit a fork in the road I guess. Everything after this will be essential or detrimental to building my relationship back up with him."

"Is Lucas really who you want?"

Alex's facial expression was marked with incredulity. "He's the one I've been pining over for the past few months. I'm pretty sure he's the one I want."

"Have you thought of maybe just letting them both go?"

Alex was about to fall off her chair with that suggestion. "Where is this coming from? I don't want Nate, Mitchie. Him and Alexis have each other now. Besides, how could I possibly go back to him after all of the hurt he caused me? Lucas was the one I had before all of this Nate business."

"Alex, you have had many men in your life. You cannot truly deny that you've given each and every one of them hope. You're as much at fault as every single one of them showing interest in you."

"I can't believe you're saying that right now. What does that even mean?"

Mitchie turned to face Alex, "Well, I can name a few. I'm sure there's a longer list but here we go. The most significant one has to be Lucas. I don't know if you've noticed but Nate did poach you from Lucas after you and him kind of already had been talking. And it's not just Nate's fault. It takes two to be in a real relationship and you made your choice when you started dating Nate. You led Lucas on for so long. Some people might think he left here because of you but make no mistake. He left here on his own accord so he could explore and live life. And—"

"Mitch, wait." Alex sat to think for a second. "Why are you blaming me for all of this? This is something that's happened so far in the past and you've never once said anything about that." Alex readjusted herself. "Did… did you…" Alex couldn't bring herself to finish her question. "Nevermind."

Mitchie feared almost getting caught. It was true whatever Alex was about to ask. Mitchie had feelings for Lucas around the time he and Alex were talking but she had Shane. She couldn't possibly have acknowledged her feelings for Lucas. It was also still a touchy subject. Essentially, Mitchie was never going to be able to have a taste of Lucas Cahill and that made her jealous that Alex had the chance but Alex threw that away with lover boy, Nate. Seeing Lucas grow into even more of a gentleman really got her going. She loved Shane but there was something about Lucas that she'd always hold a flame for him. "You know what? You should just go talk it out with both of them. Just go. Sort this out for Lucas, for your husband, and most importantly you."

* * *

By the time Nate had woken up, he heard the sound of Alexis' voice muffled by distance and the barrier of a door. He cringed thinking that she was making a ruckus and embarrassing him yet again. He made his way to the dining area still trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes. What he saw in front of him surprised him the most. Alexis seemed to be having a meal with Lucas and Lucas didn't seem irritated with her. They weren't fighting. They weren't ignoring each other. Alexis wasn't trying to get on him. They were laughing and having good conversation. Alexis' laughter died off when she saw Nate. She didn't have a welcoming expression rather it was one of caution. Lucas glanced over in Nate's direction and slowly got himself to get up and put his empty plate in the sink. Nate looked at the surroundings; everyone had left already even Shane. Once Lucas had shut his bedroom door, Alexis had been the first to break the silence. "Nate, please, sit down."

Nate took the seat across from Alexis—exactly, the same spot Lucas had previously occupied. Nate's eyes roamed Alexis' appearance. She looked fresh-faced and clean. He barely ever saw her like this. The way she was presenting herself right now made him see forever with her. However, the way she interacted with Lucas had made something inside of him twist. It seemed like she never would respond to him like that these days.

Alexis had her hands wrapped together in her lap. She seemed to be tense almost as if she were nervous to continue. "I'm going home today."

Confusion caused his eyebrows to scrunch together. "We're not going home for another few days."

Alexis gently shook her head, "No, I know. I changed my flight to today. Lucas offered to take me to the airport later." Nate didn't respond still confused as to why she would change her flight. Alexis' eyes slowly fell to her empty plate as if there was something more important on the plate than what was in front of her.

"I still don't understand why." Irritation flooded Nate's emotions thinking Alexis was just being her annoying self once again.

Her expression hardened a bit when she sensed Nate's assumptions. Her eyes flew back to his. "I think it's time I leave." Deciding that telling him the straight truth would make things easier, Alexis slowly broke down the dam to the river of her thoughts. "I've known for a while now that you're still in love with Alex. It's just taken me this long to actually realize that you'll never just be mine." Alexis took a little breath before continuing, "I can't imagine how long I would've let myself live this kind of life. I know you love me, Nate. Sometimes, at least. But, I don't want the person I might spend the rest of my life with to only love me some of the time and love someone else some of the other time. I don't think it's very fair that I have to fight for and share your affection with someone else. And honestly, I don't like the person I am around you either. I've grown since that teenage girl that you seem to have loved years ago. I do terrible things but I learn from my mistakes. I'm not sure I can say the same for you, Nate. You're still pulling the same old stunts yet you still think you're better than everyone else. You're no better than I am. We just have different vices." Nate seemed as if he was about to burst a vein but before he could cut in, Alexis stopped him. "I get it. I'm overwhelming at times. Don't worry though. I had my things moved out of your house this morning. When you get back, there shouldn't be a trace of me there. Promise." She got up to put her dish in the sink before heading out to the balcony to have a smoke.

Nate was still as could be watching Alexis out on the balcony. He just got dumped by Alexis Texas. Of all people. He knew her way before she was Alexis Texas. He fell in love with her wild side and yet he really shunned that side of her too. Who had she become anyways? She obviously still wanted to be with him but did he still want to be with her? Here, he had Alexis but he was yearning for Alex. But, the same thing happened before when he had Alex but he yearned for Alexis. She got him there. Alexis was spot on when he said he was fickle. Was it so terrible to be in love with two people? He could see where conflicts could arise. He even lived through them. He couldn't possibly bring himself to just loving one. He never was happy with just what he had. Now, everything was crumbling to dust. He would have no one.

**xoxo**

**So, I accidentally forgot to publish this chapter earlier! Sorry about that. I made it longer hopefully to compensate for that mistake. Anyways, I know the way I wrote this might be a little hard to decipher everyone's feelings but I tried to make it so that you got a little bit of each person's thoughts and then you could try to read between the lines. I'm not sure if I did a very good job of that sooo, let me know if you couldn't really tell what people's true feelings were. Or at least try to figure out what their feelings were though.**

**Sorry again for not posting earlier! Hopefully, you've enjoyed this chapter. We're winding down to the end!**


	33. Chapter 33

"I'm sorry, Miss. We just don't carry that size." Alex huffed and set down the clothes she had in her hands. The boutique clerk gave a helpless shrug wanting to help the starlet.

Alex readjusted her leather bag on her arm and put her oversized sunglasses on before leaving the store into the bright, sunny day. She had spent a good part of her day searching for the perfect outfit for the engagement party of the year.

Her best friend was having her official engagement party. Apparently, Mitch and Shane had worked out their problems and they're moving forward with their lives. Just like Alex should…

Just like Alex should.

As Alex walked down the sidewalk, she glanced into the windows of the stores not pleased with what she saw. She pursed her lips displeased with the available selection. She abruptly stopped upon spotting the perfect dress.

She entered the boutique slowly heading toward the area with the dress. Stopping in her tracks, the perfect dress was in the hands of no other than the glowing Kaylin. Just about the same moment Alex decided to make a break for it, Kaylin glanced up and a soft smile grew on her delicate lips.

Ever so polite, "Hi! It's Alex, right? How are you?" Kaylin lowered the dress she had just been inspecting. When Alex didn't respond, Kaylin pressed on, "It's been so long. It's actually great to run into a familiar face." Kaylin looked at the dress one more time before placing it back on the rack, "Well, I suppose I should be going. I've got to meet up with Lucas in a little bit. You should stop by his apartment some time. I'm sure Lucas would love to see you again."

Alex gave a half smile before Kaylin left with her loose curls and flowing dress. Alex hated that she was so nice and all Alex could do was be somewhat personable. She left the store unmotivated to buy the dress that Kaylin had so subtly rejected. _

Alex impatiently stood in line at the airport waiting for her turn to board the plane. She was slightly peeved that it would still take this amount of time for her to get on the stupid plane when she booked First Class. She pushed her big, black, bug-eyed glasses back into place before peeking over the stranger in front of her. Nothing seemed to be holding up the line. She sighed loudly and readjusted her bag on her shoulder. If this was going to take forever, she might as well get ready for eternity.

Just as she was about to pull out her blanket and pillow, the line began to move and Alex grunted a sound of frustration. She muttered under her breath, "Finally."

After boarding the plane, she immediately asked for a glass of champagne. Alex normally did well with flights but not today. She just wanted to get there already. _

"Nate, can you grab that folder for me?" Mitchie pointed to a lilac folder on the kitchen counter. "It's just that one right beside you if you don't mind." Nate grabbed his glass of water before grabbing the folder and walking over to Mitchie. She had been lounging on the couch watching some trash, reality TV show.

"That is such a waste of your brilliant mind, Mitch. You could be watching something that has more substance to it." Nate plopped down at the end of the couch that Mitchie had her legs stretched out on. He placed his glass on the coffee table in front of them.

"Thanks, Nate." She replied distractedly as she opened the folder and began flipping through papers. She paused for a second and looked up at her future brother-in-law. "Thank you for the folder. No thanks for the ugly comment that came with it." She grinned knowing Nate didn't actually mean it. "You can change the channel if you want."

He gladly picked up the remote and began flipping through channels when he heard a mention of his last name Gray. He flipped passed it but curiosity got the best of him and he wanted to know what the media had been saying about his family. Just for entertainment of course. He clicked the button back a few times and paused when the segment on the show had begun to play a clip of some old footage. Nate had already seen that footage a thousand times over. It was the media's favorite clip of him and Alex after all. He wondered why the media outlet might be using such an old video and he supposed he did look quite good on that day so maybe he should be thankful they were using that footage instead of something else completely horrible. But then again, Nate Gray always looked good.

He hadn't really been paying attention until they had said something about Alex. He rewound really quickly and paused the feed to look over at Mitchie who seemed too engrossed in whatever it was she was looking over to really pay attention to what he was watching.

He pressed play despite something inside of him warning him not to.

"…the fairy tale life. Alex and Nate were inseparable and became a power couple dominating not only the Billboard Charts but Hollywood and the silver screen…" An unsettling feeling sank in his chest as clips of Nate and Alex at awards shows began playing while the reporter kept speaking.

"A source close to the starlet revealed that Alex has been having it hard these last few months. Some say the trouble came with her sitcom's move from New York to L.A. Others say that the trouble started long before with the downward spiral of her marriage." Images of Alex and Nate exiting restaurants ran across the screen.

Nate barely registered that Mitchie had stopped perusing her papers and had been watching the segment like Nate. Clips of the couple stopped playing as the screen was then filled by two anchors discussing the situation. The anchor with the thin frame and long, stick, straight hair began, "Even before Alex had moved out to L.A. Nate had been seen around town with his first love, the one and only Alexis Texas. As secretive as they thought they might've been, you can't be that famous and expect to go unnoticed especially in hot spots around New York. Some of my sources had reported that Alex and Nate's relationship was over long before Nate unofficially went public with Alexis for the second time around."

The anchor with perfect hair and a casual sweater vest over his plaid shirt added, "Interestingly enough, legal documents still say that Alex and Nate are married. If there were any papers signed, they're not currently being processed."

The female anchor began again, "I'm happily married now but I remember what it was like having an unfaithful boyfriend. As a woman who's gone through it, I don't know how Alex would be able to still hold it together especially since Alexis and Nate have been parading their relationship around the world."

"As much as I've heard, it is over between Alexis and Nate. Sources say that it was Alexis' choice."

"Well, who even comes out the winner in these situations? Who do you even root for?"

"I don't know, Stacey. I'll keep my eyes peeled, but as fleeting as Hollywood relationships can be, I won't be betting any of my hard-earned money on any of those couples. I think Alexis is done with Nate for good, but you never know with young hearts or old hearts for that matter."

The anchor nodded her head in agreement, "I hear you there, John. Let's talk about Alex's life really quickly before we have to go to commercial. She hasn't really been in another relationship since Nate although she's been seen around L.A. with several guys who sources say have been a friend at best. Unfortunately, it always seems that Alex gets her lines mixed up and goes for the kill only to find that they weren't there for her romantically after all."

"She's really trying to go for the guy she can rely on and unfortunately for her, these guys already have their eyes on someone else."

"It's actually quite sad because she's slowly alienating herself it seems like. Besides that, I haven't heard about any upcoming projects that include her. According to sources, that's despite her efforts. She's really off her game."

"Alex has always been poised so I don't doubt that she'll pull herself together eventually. We're coming up on commercial so when we return, we'll be discussing Darren Taylor's latest mishap with our favorite troublemaker."

Nate still had his eyes glued to the television when Mitchie glanced over to see how he took it all. He finally responded once the commercial break was over, "It's weird hearing your relationship be retold through the eyes of a stranger." Mitchie pushed herself up and enveloped Nate in her arms. _

Shane had picked Alex up from the airport as soon as she had arrived. She had already gotten settled into the guest room at Shane and Mitchie's abode. As best friend, she offered to help pull the last ends of the engagement party together so that Mitchie could have some fun. Though there was still much to be done, Alex was relieved that she still had a couple of days to get all of the errands run so that the party would be ready. Tonight, she would relax. The plane ride was not the best.

Alex pulled out her sleeping clothes placing them on her bed. She twisted her hair into a bun on top of her head and went to the bathroom to start the bath. Water filled the tub about three quarters of the way to the rim before Alex turned the faucet to stop the water from running. She sprinkled bath salt into the tub and a sweet floral aroma filled the air. One by one, pieces of her attire fell to the ground around her feet. She slowly made her way into the bathtub. She settled and laid her head on the ledge of the tub. Closing her eyes, she thought she could leave her mind blank and enjoy the moment; however, that was not the case. Memories of her and Nate played on loop and her heart ached for a time she couldn't fully even claim was real. _

With all of the errands she had to run, Alex successfully avoided most of her old acquaintances and especially her old loves. Lucas had flown into New York a few days earlier so that he could visit some family in the city before the engagement party. If Alex wasn't running an errand, she hid away somewhere in a café or at Mitchie's. Maybe it was less about hiding and more about preserving her energy for the big party anyways. _

Despite how young they were, the party was stale. Alex held the flute of champagne in her perfectly manicured fingers as she looked around. She had a vantage point from where she stood by the bar. Everyone looked so happy. She sneered in response. She knew this wouldn't be the last time she would have to endure a function like this. Of course, she was happy for Mitchie and Shane but she would rather not be in an enclosed space with this many happy people.

Mitchie and Shane had invited not only friends and family to their engagement party but their colleagues as well. Alex flew solo and it seemed like everybody here came as a pair. Her eyes seemed to be drawn to the man who had just recently broken her heart. He stood there looking as perfect as could be with his eye candy on his arm. She didn't even realize that she had a disgusted look on her face until Nate came by.

"They say if you make a face long enough, it'll get stuck like that." Nate grabbed a drink from the bar as Alex righted herself. She gulped down the rest of her champagne and placed the flute on the bar. She straightened her skirt down as if she'd been sitting and was trying to relieve the fabric of wrinkles. Nate took a sip of his drink before setting down his tumbler. "You look nice tonight."

Alex quickly glanced at Nate and her eyes flew back to the crowd at the center of the room, "Thanks." Truthfully, Alex didn't know why she was being so distant. This urge to just completely shell up around Nate seemed to be instinctual.

Softly, Nate murmured, "You're welcome," before moving on to his next destination.

In that moment, Alex just wanted to call him back and tell him she was not purposefully trying to be terse. She just did not know what to say next. She mentally smacked herself for being so antisocial. She backtracked in her thoughts, why should she care how she acted toward Nate anyways? She waved her white flag at the mental argument and ordered another drink before heading off in her own direction. _

"Hey! Alex!" Alex was taking a stroll outside to get some fresh air when she thought she heard a faint calling of her name. She continued to walk thinking nobody would probably be calling her anyways. Then she heard footsteps falling behind her quickly. Her pace quickened a bit. Then, she realized that if someone was attempting to attack her, she should at least get a glimpse of the person's face for the police. She spun around quickly and the person almost knocked her over. The fronts of their bodies were pressed together before the person grasped her arms to anchor her in an upright position. "Wow, didn't think you'd turn around so abruptly." Alex looked up the instant she recognized Lucas' jovial tone.

She pushed him back a tad bit aggravated that he'd scare her like that. In a harsh whisper, "What are you doing out here?" She scanned the surrounding area only to have been met with the darkness of the night blanketing the shrubbery nearby with the occasional street light that attempted to light the area.

Lucas chuckled and took to a loud whisper, "Why are you whispering? And what are you looking for?"

Alex's eyes snapped back right in line with his. She unraveled the hunch in her back and returned to a resting position rather one of flight. "I'm not looking for anything. I just came out here for some fresh air." She made a 180 and made on her way of her original path.

Lucas caught up with her, his stride matching hers. "I wanted to say, 'hi' to you."

Alex huffed, "What?" Her pace began to pick up.

"Yeah, since you didn't come say, 'hi' to me earlier. I thought you didn't see me or something but clearly, you did."

Alex stopped and pivoted to face him. Lucas followed suit. She glared for a few seconds before asking, "What do you mean?" She ran through her memory to see if she could understand what he was getting at first. She didn't have to search that long or hard because truth is, she knew exactly what he was talking about. She was hoping she could play dumb to avoid the situation altogether.

"I…" he spent a few milliseconds figuring out what he should say. "I just… nevermind. It's not that important. I just wanted to say, 'hi' and that Kaylin says, 'hi' as well." He punched his fist into his open hand, "Guess I should leave you to your night stroll." He nodded his head and turned as if to take a step away from Alex but stopped midway. "Actually no, I think I'll continue with you. It's not entirely safe out here to be walking alone." Before Alex could say anything, Lucas added on, "Not that you're not capable of taking care of yourself, I just want to be here with you right now."

Alex was conflicted. She was sad and mad at the same time. Sad that she lost to the other girl. Mad because he wouldn't just let her sulk about it. He just had to show her that he cared and that he was still the man she wanted. She began to walk slowly and kept her eyes on him to see if he would follow. Once their strides matched, her eyes fell to her feet as her hands clasped each other itching to be held by his.

**xoxo**

**I'm a bit rusty so please do go easy on me if you decide to review or drop a line or whatever. It has been a very long while. I hope you enjoyed! Thank you for reading!**


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